UK drought remains despite a wet June

Alison Brown in edie.net: Despite the wet weather with many regions receiving more than their average June rainfall, parts of England are still officially in drought. Central and eastern England have had 75% and 83% respectively of their average monthly rainfall but Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, parts of Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire and western Norfolk remain in drought.

Some areas have had more than the average monthly rain. South West England has had 32 mm of rain falling, 130% of its monthly average rainfall for June. South east England and Wales have now received 118% and 101% respectively of the monthly average so far.

Many rivers are recovering but there are still a number that have below normal flows for the time of year, including: the rivers Dove and Derwent in central England, Ely Ouse in east Anglia, Malmesbury Avon in south west England and the Kennet and Coln in the Thames Valley. Most water companies are still saying that water restrictions are unlikely despite reservoir stocks being below normal for this time of year and hosepipe bans have not been initiated in England or Wales….