Although it may feel rainy this week, scientists warn that regions of England need unusually heavy rain to make up for an unusually dry winter.
Data from the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology show that certain rivers in England and Wales had their lowest February flows ever.
The Met Office reported that February was the driest in England in thirty years.
Winter rain is needed to top off rivers and reservoirs before spring so they can continue to provide drinking water and feed crops.
According to the UKCEH, South West England and East Anglia are at risk of drought if there isn’t “unseasonably sustained rainfall” in the upcoming months.
“The wet weather and snow during the first two weeks of March has led to an increase in river flows and rewetting of the soils [but] some areas of England were starting March with below-average groundwater levels or below-average reservoir stocks,” Steve Turner at UKCEH told BBC News.
Drought was declared in England and Wales last summer, leading to hosepipe bans, farmers losing crops and some wildlife dying.
Rain in February was also in short supply in Wales and Northern Ireland, with Wales seeing just 22% of its average for the month.
This had caused water levels to fall in reservoirs and in groundwater, which supply drinking water to millions. In Wales reservoir levels were at their lowest for February since 1996.
