Research and analysis

Dry weather and drought in England: 21 to 27 November 2025

Updated 28 November 2025

Applies to England

1. Summary

The weather has continued to be wet and cold during the week to 25 November improving the water resources position. Most parts of England have received more than the long term average rainfall for the month, the exceptions being in the south-east and south-west of the country.  

Storage levels in public water supply reservoirs continue to increase. Total reservoir stocks across England for the period ending 25 November were 77%, an increase of 1.3% from the previous week. South East Water’s situation is improving slowly as its Ardingly Reservoir, in Sussex, has increased to 40% full. However, this is still very low compared to normal levels for the time of year. Further rainfall is needed over the winter to allow levels to return to normal.  

Temporary use bans (TUBs) remain in place for customers supplied by Yorkshire Water and parts of South East Water. Thames Water removed its TUB for its Swindon and Oxfordshire zone on 27 November and Southern Water removed its TUB for its Hampshire and Isle of Wight zones on 31 October. 

After another wet week, river flows increased at more than half of sites: three quarters of sites are now classed as normal or higher for the time of year. Just 2 sites were classed as below normal for the time of year, in east and south-east England. Most farmers and growers have started to refill their irrigation reservoirs but the ability for some abstractors to do this may be impacted where hands off flows conditions are in force. There are currently 249 hands off flow conditions in force on abstraction licences (up by 5 from 244 last week) where river flows remain low. 

The storage in canal feeder reservoirs continues to improve and most levels are no longer at their lowest position on record for this time of year. Some reservoirs have been less responsive to recent rainfall, so some navigation restrictions on rivers and canals remain. 

2. Area drought status

There have been no changes in area drought status this week:

2.1 Areas in drought

• Yorkshire (YOR)
• East Midlands (EMD)
• West Midlands (WMD)
• Parts of Sussex aligning with South East Water supply areas

2.2 Areas in prolonged dry weather

• North East (NEA)
• Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire (LNA)
• East Anglia (EAN)
• Thames (THM)
• Wessex (WSX)
• Solent and South Downs (SSD) – remaining parts of Area not in Drought status

2.3 How the stages of drought response work

Each area is reviewing its status depending on the triggers they have outlined in their drought plan.

More detail of how we manage drought, including our 4 stages of drought response, is available in Drought: how it is managed in England.

3. Current water situation

Unsettled, wet and cold weather continued in the week to November 25, with all parts of England receiving some rainfall. Conditions were particularly wet along eastern coasts, in the far north-west and Cornwall, while much of central England remained relatively dry. Most parts of England have already received more than the long term average (LTA) for November. The exceptions are the south-east and south-west which have received 85% and 92% respectively. England as a whole has received 122% of the LTA. 

Soil moisture deficits have stabilised across England after a drier week. Soils are as wet as would be expected for the time of year, which increases the possibility of groundwater recharge with ongoing rainfall. 

River flows increased at more than half of reported sites, and three quarters were classed as normal for the time of year. Two sites were classed as below normal, the River Burn in east England, and the River Kennet in the south-east. Remaining sites were classed as above normal or higher, with notably and exceptionally high flows in north-east England. 

Public water supply reservoir stocks rose at almost all reported reservoirs in the period ending 25 November 2025. Overall stocks for England were 77%, having increased by 1.3%. The largest increases in storage were in south-west England. Ardingly reservoir storage continued to improve, and all reservoirs are now more than 40% full. Further rainfall is needed over the winter to allow all reservoirs to return to normal in the spring. 

Groundwater levels have begun to rise at around half of sites across England, with the rest continuing to recede. In faster responding aquifers like the Jurassic Limestone, groundwater levels have risen quickly and are now classed as normal for the time of year. In the chalk aquifers of the South Downs, levels have stabilised, while other aquifers continue to see declining groundwater levels. Chalk sites from Yorkshire to the Wessex and South Downs are below normal or lower for the time of year, while chalk aquifers in the Chilterns and east England are mostly normal. 

More details are available in our water situation reports for England.

4. Public water supply

Water companies in drought continue to follow their drought plans. Several water companies have seen their water resource situation improve over the last week following recent rainfall. However, November rainfall has not been so high in the south-east and south-west of England. Many water companies remain concerned about recovery of water resources over winter if conditions result in lower than average rainfall. 

Water companies report their drought response using operational drought levels, from drought level 1 escalating to level 4. 

4.1 Anglian Water

Anglian Water remains at drought level 1 in the following supply areas: Fenland, Lincolnshire Central, Norfolk Norwich and the Broads, Ruthamford Central, North, South, and West and Essex South. Reservoir levels have seen an increase following recent significant rainfall.

4.2 Cambridge Water

Cambridge Water remains at drought level 1.

4.3 Essex and Suffolk Water

Essex and Suffolk Water remains at drought level 1 in its Essex and Northern Central supply areas and has moved into drought level 1 in its Blyth and Hartismere areas.

4.4 Northumbrian Water

Northumbrian Water remains at drought level 1.

4.5 SES Water

SES Water remains at drought level 1. Reservoir storage has increased by 1.5% since last week. 

4.6 Severn Trent Water

Severn Trent Water has moved to business as usual (BAU) in its Strategic Grid North. The company has seen significant increases in reservoir storage over the past week. Severn Trent Water applied for its Ambergate drought permit (Derbyshire River Derwent) on 22 October, this was granted on 3 November. They are implementing enhanced communications to encourage demand reduction in the area of the drought permit

4.7 Southern Water

Southern Water is in drought level 2 in its Sussex Worthing supply area and drought level 1 in its Kent Medway West, Sussex Hastings and Kent Medway East. 

4.8 South East Water

South East Water remains at drought level 2 in its resource zones 2 and 3, with storage in Ardingly reservoir increasing over the last week. As of 24 November, the reservoir was at 40.44% total capacity. South East Water was granted its Ardingly winter drought permit on 22 September and applied for its River Ouse drought order to Defra on 10 October. The company implemented a TUB for customers in Kent and Sussex areas from 18 July 2025 and removed exemptions from this ban on 17 October. They applied for a non-essential use drought order to restrict some uses of water by businesses on 24 October. Examples of banned activities include watering outdoor plants on commercial premises, cleaning windows, and filling swimming pools and ponds. South East Water states that it will only implement this if the drought worsens. The company is also reviewing and implementing additional options to bring water into the zone. More detail is available on South East Water website.

4.9 South Staffordshire Water

South Staffordshire Water remains at drought level 1. Blithfield reservoir storage has increased by 7.3% to 75.1% since last week. 

4.10 Thames Water

Thames Water has moved from drought level 2 to BAU in its Swindon and Oxfordshire supply area (SWOX) and has removed its TUB on Thursday 27 November. TW’s London and other zones remain at drought level 1.

4.11 Veolia Water

Veolia Water Projects Limited remains at drought level 1.

4.12 Wessex Water

Wessex Water has moved to drought level 1a from drought level 1b. Reservoirs are at normal; groundwater has improved but remains in drought level 1a. 

4.13 Yorkshire Water

Yorkshire Water remains at drought level 3. Supply reservoir storage has increased this week by 4.12% to 84.6%. The company implemented a TUB on 11 July. We have now granted 44 drought permits to Yorkshire Water, and Defra granted 1 drought order. More detail is available on the Yorkshire Water website.

5. Agriculture

A wet November so far has allowed most abstractors to start to refill winter storage reservoirs for next year’s irrigation season. However, in parts of East Anglia some river flows are still below normal for the time of year, and this may impact the ability for some abstractors to refill irrigation reservoirs, where hands of flows conditions are in force. There are currently 249 hands off flow restrictions in force on abstraction licences (up 5 from 244 last week), where river flows remain below average. Some concerns have been raised from Water Abstractor Groups regarding the current restrictions on abstraction licences used to refill winter farm reservoirs. Where licence conditions allow, abstractors are advised to refill irrigation reservoirs as soon as possible to ensure greater resilience for next year irrigation season. 

Attention is now turning to establishing next year’s crops, with recent rainfall improving the conditions needed. Concerns remain heading into the winter on feed availability for livestock due to poor grass growth this summer and low quality and quantity hay and straw from this year’s dry conditions.

The agriculture sector has been advised to plan for a dry winter and take actions to mitigate the impacts from drought continuing into next spring. Our winter irrigation prospects report has now been published on the Farming Advice Service website. This is similar to the spring irrigation prospects report to help farmers understand their refill potential of reservoirs over the winter, in addition to advice and support to improve water resilience.

We continue to engage and support the agriculture sector into the autumn and winter season. 

We are proactively updating our drought weather communications, detailing the current drought situation, support available to help farmers improve access to water and preparation for this winter. Our Environment Agency dry weather farming blog and Water Hub webpage contains further information. 

6. Energy

There are no known issues with the energy sector.

7. Environment

The number of incidents caused by drought and dry weather in 2025 is now at 302 and is improving with the cooler wetter weather.

The 2 Environment Agency drought orders to protect the environment, both at Holme Styes reservoir, Holmfirth, Yorkshire (granted 28 July and 3 September) remain in place but are not in use due to the reservoir being full.

8. Navigation

There has been some recovery of canal supply reservoir groups, and most levels are now no longer at their lowest position on record for this time of year. Some canal supply reservoirs remain less responsive to recent rainfall and so unfortunately some canal closures are still in place across parts of the Canal & River Trust’s 2,000-mile network. Additionally, engineering works are continuing to take place that requires some reservoirs to maintained at lower levels. The Trust continues to monitor the situation and will reopen further canals as water levels improve. The latest closures and restrictions are listed on the Canal & River Trust website.

9. Weather forecast

Mixed conditions are expected on Friday with sunshine and showers for most, with longer spells of rain in the north-west. The weekend is likely to bring more changeable weather, with a slow moving band of rain moving across the country on Saturday bringing rain to many. Unsettled conditions will remain in early December, with low pressure systems dominating and bringing showers and rain to much of the country. It is expected to be wettest in the west, but rain will reach all parts. Temperatures are expected to be around average.

10. Drought readiness actions

In response to the drought and dry weather, the Environment Agency continues to act by:

• operating our Gold command structure for our national incident response

• planning for potential continuation of dry weather into winter and spring using the latest drought prospects information from water companies and other sectors

• coordinating closely with water companies to implement statutory drought plans, taking necessary action to safeguard public water supplies

• activating drought plans for those Environment Agency Areas in drought and PDW status

• enhancing abstraction licence compliance checks and issuing hands off flow or level restrictions and warnings to some abstractors in areas experiencing low flows

• monitoring, preparing and responding to incidents caused by low river flows, particularly in those Environment Agency Areas in drought status

• preparing dry weather advice to fishery operators to help protect their waters

• hosting regular national drought meetings

The next National Drought Group meeting is scheduled for 8 December.

11. Contact us

Contact drought.national@environment-agency.gov.uk if you have questions about this report.