Lancashire moved to ‘recovery’ drought status after two storms
Storms Austen and Boelo battered the county last weekend.
Lancashire has had its drought status downgraded to “recovery” after the country experienced its wettest week for two years – but the Environment Agency (EA) has warned of severe drought persisting in some areas.
The EA said all of north-west England, including Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cumbria, was in recovery on Friday (Oct 30), having previously been in “prolonged dry weather” – the precursor to drought.
Almost all of the rest of the nation remains in drought, despite storms Austen and Boelo battering the country with heavy rainfall and strong winds.
Severe drought is still in place across parts of the South West and Sussex, and much of Wales also remains in drought after the UK’s hottest summer since records began in 1884.
The summer of extreme heat and little rainfall led to devastating wildfires and water restrictions for millions, with its impacts being felt well into autumn.
Some 10 of England’s key reservoirs still have exceptionally low water levels and many households remain under hosepipe bans.
In its weekly report, the EA said there needs to be at least 120% of average rainfall over the next six months for the entire country to be out of drought by next spring.