Drought declared across massive chunk of England as people told 'be aware'

An official drought has been declared across the north-west of due to a drop in water supply, the Environment Agency has said. The region went into drought status on May 21 after weeks of unusually dry leading to low water levels in reservoirs and rivers.

It comes after rainfall between February and April was the third lowest on record in the north-west since 1871, while nationwide it is believed this spring is one of the driest on record. An Environment Agency spokeswoman said: “Despite the rain over the weekend, levels remain low and we are encouraging people to be aware of the impacts of drought as we enter the summer period.

"With further unsettled periods and rainfall over the coming weeks we will continue to closely monitor the situation.” The move to drought status for the region was only revealed on Wednesday, and comes following a period classified as “dry weather status”, which began on April 30.

READ MORE:

READ MORE:

The agency has warned that drought could put a strain on water resources, lead to dead fish and algal blooms, as well as causing problems in rivers for wildlife trying to move upstream due to reduced flow.

It has a drought plan in place to manage the dry weather, and to regulate United Utilities to “make the best use of available water whilst also protecting the environment”.

A spokesman for United Utilities, who supply water in the region, said: "We are grateful for the support of customers as we’ve seen demand reduce thanks to their efforts in saving water where they can, combined with more recent rainfall and cooler temperatures.

"Reservoirs, however, are still lower than we’d expect at this time of year and so we’re continuing to move water around our integrated network to get it to where it is needed, as well as bringing extra water into the system from other sources around the region.

"Leakage is at its lowest level and we’re repairing record volumes, with customers supporting us by reporting more leaks and we’d ask that they continue to do that as well as doing all they can to save and recycle water, to help protect their local environment."

It comes as very soon with temperatures peaking at 26C.

Things have taken a colder, wetter turn over recent days after the - but forecasters now say we are due a quick return to balmy conditions this weekend.

Temperatures are expected to be between 21C to 23C across the board today, according to the, and on Friday we will see thein the south and 21C in the north. Maximum temperatures will then soar to 26C on Saturday, thanks to a moving over the British Isles.