Rain needed to reverse UK and London record drought 'not expected until October'

As London is gripped by its worst drought in decades, experts are warning that significant much-needed rainfall may not arrive in the UK until October. Almost half of England is currently experiencing drought conditions, with East Anglia, Hertfordshire, London, Thames Valley, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Devon, Cornwall, the West Midlands, and Wessex all impacted. According to the Met Office, rainfall in England this month is at 4.4mm, one of the lowest levels on record, behind only February 1891 (3.3mm) and tied with June 1925 (4.4mm).Swathes of grassland across England have dried out in the heatAFP/GettyThe historic drought of 1976 is on the brink of being surpassed, with locations such as Surrey having gone as long as 44 days without rain. In parts of London like Heathrow, there have been 38 consecutive dry days, tracking back to June 23. Heatwave conditions have heightened wildfire risk across the country and have led to water shortages, placing around 23 million under a hosepipe ban. Swathes of England’s grasslands have been devastated by wildfires, while farmers have been forced to feed livestock with winter feed amid dry conditions. But the rainfall needed to relieve the UK of these conditions is not expected until October. BBC Weather has reported that in order to alleviate the drought, there would need to be prolonged rain over a number of days and weeks. It has even been suggested that drought conditions could worsen before they improve, according to the same outlet. Met Office chief meteorologist Will Lang said: “While there is always the potential for periods of rain during the remainder of the summer, current forecasts do not favour the widespread, sustained rainfall that would be needed to make a significant difference to rainfall deficits that have built up over recent months.Read More“As we move through August, there remains a tendency towards drier than average conditions, particularly in southern and eastern areas.”He added: “Meaningful recovery from prolonged dry conditions often relies on more frequent and widespread rainfall during the autumn months, when weather patterns typically become more changeable.”This means the spate of light rain showers forecast in London late next week will do little to remedy the dry conditions. As it stands, BBC Weather is forecasting light rain showers on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday in London, with Friday the only day set to see consistent rainfall throughout the day. Rainfall to remedy the drought is not expected until OctoberAFP/GettyThe 1976 drought lasted for 16 months in total, beginning in May 1975 and not being remedied until heavy autumn rains finally broke the dry spell between August and October of the following year. On Thursday, London saw its first glimpse of rain with a small scattering of showers across central areas. But the brief shower was not sufficient enough to end the capital’s spell of dry days. There is no threshold for drought, but the Environment Agency weighs up river flows, rainfall, groundwater levels, reservoir storage, and environmental impacts before its declaration. England has had just seven per cent of its usual rainfall, with southern regions recording one per cent of their monthly average, according to the Environment Agency. In London, Thames Water - one of seven companies to impose hosepipe bans - released a summary of its water resources. Reservoirs in London were only 89% full, a below average figure for this time of year. Soils were also drier than average across the catchment, while river flows were also short of their usual benchmark.Reservoir storage in England has dropped to 75.3% average capacity, which is seven percentage points below the seasonal average. The significant heat has also put many lives at risk, with almost double the number of heat-associated deaths having been recorded by the UKHSA in comparison to last year. An estimated 2,877 people have died across the UK due to the extreme weather conditions.