Despite recent wet weather, the UK is entering the summer with depleted river flows, reservoir and groundwater levels, as well as dry soils, according to the latest UK Hydrological Summary, published Friday 13 June, 2025.
Following the driest spring in England for 132 years, some reservoirs in Yorkshire and the north west of England (which are officially in drought) and parts of Wales were 20-30% below their average capacity at the end of May. Over 20 rivers across Britain had record low average flows for the spring.
River flows in eastern Britain, and southern and central England are now mostly notably or exceptionally low, as shown on the UK Water Resources Portal.
With the Met Office forecasting that the UK is likely to experience a hotter-than-normal summer, there is unlikely to be significant change in the water situation over the next three months unless there is exceptionally high rainfall, according to Jamie Hannaford, hydrologist at the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), who commented:
“We have seen a remarkably dry spring, following on from a dry winter in parts of northern Britain. Spring river flows were lower than in the equivalent time in notable drought years such as 1976 and 1984 and current reservoir levels for England and Wales are the lowest in early summer for at least 30 years.
“With the summer weather forecast uncertain and higher evaporation in warmer temperatures, there is unlikely to be a significant change in the water situation over the next three months unless we see exceptional rainfall.”
In addition to the Summary, the UK Hydrological Outlook, providing a forecast for June-August, was also published this week. Highlights from both monthly reports produced by UKCEH with partner organisations, are below with a quote.
Current situation:
- Spring as a whole was exceptionally dry across the UK. May rainfall was above average in parts of north-west England and western Scotland, but it was a very dry month elsewhere, particularly across southern England.
- Average flows for May were generally below normal to exceptionally low across Britain. There were record low flows for May in many rivers including the Aire, Waveney and Yscir (in records dating back at least 50 years).
- Groundwater levels for May were below normal across many aquifers, with record low levels in some boreholes.
- The volume of water in England and Wales’ reservoirs was the lowest for the start of the summer (in a record from 1990). Levels in some reservoirs in Yorkshire – where drought was declared this week – were 20-30% lower than usual at the end of May, with similar deficits in the north west of England and parts of Wales (see table on page 10 in the Hydrological Summary).
- Environmental impacts of the dry weather included: wildfires, localised fish rescues and algal blooms.
Summer forecast (June-August) from the Hydrological Outlook:
- The latest Met Office forecast (27.05.2025) indicates the chance of a wet or dry summer are ‘evenly balanced’
- There are likely to be normal river flows in northern Britain over June-August, but below normal in eastern, central and southern areas of the country, with flows in some catchments likely to be notably or exceptionally low.
- For groundwater, the outlook for June-August is for normal to below normal levels across the country.
