Seven months of rain needed to recover from drought, say experts

The grass is greener again, and some of your playtimes may be indoors, but experts say a lot more rain is needed in England to recover from 2026's long, dry summer.

The government organisation tasked with monitoring and protecting the environment, says seven more months of wetter-than-usual weather are needed before the whole country is no longer in drought.

Drought is when there is a long period of low or no rainfall which can impact people, the environment and farming.

Despite recent rain, the Environment Agency (EA) says water levels remain low.

Even though it has rained recently across a lot of the UK, almost three-quarters of England is still affected by drought.

The EA says there needs to be about 20% more rainfall than normal between now and April 2027 to end the drought everywhere.

Devon, Cornwall and East Anglia are the worst affected areas and will take the longest to recover.

The water levels are still too low in lakes and reservoirs, but forecasts by the Met Office (the UK's national weather service) predict a wet autumn.

They also say that there is only a 1% chance of severe drought.

That is when low rainfall causes widespread and lasting effects on the environment, farming, people, communities, and the economy.

And people are still being asked to use water carefully.

EA Chief Executive Philip Duffy said: "The drought situation remains very serious, and we cannot underestimate the challenge ahead over the coming months.

"A few weeks of rain cannot reverse the deficit we face from the very dry spring and summer. We still need everyone to use a little less water to speed up the drought recovery."