Midlands moved out of drought after surge in rain

The Midlands has moved out of drought after almost five months following a recent surge in rainfall, the Environment Agency (EA) has confirmed.

England's driest start to the year since 1976 saw the region enter drought status on 15 July - which later saw the Met Office confirm that the summer was the hottest on record.

The national drought group, which includes the Met Office, regulators, government, water companies, and other organisations, moved the region out of drought and into recovery, following a meeting on Monday.

According to the EA, the East Midlands saw 218% the long-term average of rainfall in November - the wettest since 1871.

The body added the West Midlands saw 185% of average rainfall in the same month - making it the wettest since 1970.

The spring of 2025 was the driest in 132 years, the EA said, and with four heatwaves, the Met Office declared the summer of 2025 the hottest since records began in 1884.

Drought is over when river, groundwater and reservoir levels are back to normal, the EA added.

Water firm Severn Trent's reservoir levels were recorded at 84.7% on 1 December - compared to a low of 45.4% in mid-September.

But Helen Wakeham, EA director of water, said: "The recent rain has helped some of our depleted rivers and reservoirs, but we are not out of the woods yet.

"The spring was exceptionally dry and the summer very hot.

"Therefore, I would urge people to carry on using water as efficiently as possible - particularly while our environment recovers from the impacts of the recent drought."

Water minister Emma Hardy MP said: "This year's drought has been a challenge and, while I welcome the improving picture, we cannot be complacent because climate change will bring more droughts and floods in future."

Follow BBC Derby on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.