UK drought forecast to worsen as high pressure blocks rain
Forecasters say a strong high pressure system will block significant rain, worsening drought across much of England as reservoirs stay low.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Drought conditions across the UK are expected to worsen as a strong area of high pressure moves in and blocks significant rainfall. Forecasters say the dry spell could continue for the rest of October. The high pressure is expected to reach the UK by the weekend. Pressure could be near 1,040 millibars, which would make it the highest October pressure since 2018.
Only last week, Yorkshire declared drought status. The region now joins much of central, southern and eastern England. Drought status covers around 50 million people and 80% of England. Reservoir levels remain extremely low. Ardingly Reservoir in West Sussex is just over 19% full, and many other reservoirs across the country are less than half full. A hosepipe ban is still in place.
The government has set up a flood and drought resilience task force. The group includes experts from the Met Office and the Environment Agency. It met for the first time today to discuss lessons from this summer's drought and to look at how to protect people and improve infrastructure ahead of the risk of winter flooding.
Colder conditions will arrive over the next few days and will be very noticeable over the weekend. Friday and Saturday nights are likely to be chilly, with temperatures possibly below zero. The first significant frost of the season is possible. Friday itself will be largely dry for much of the country, with a few showers on western fringes. There will be brighter skies but fresher temperatures. Daytime highs on Friday are expected to be 11 to 13C in the north and 16 to 17C in the south. A northerly flow will make it feel colder.
Before that, rain will move south and southeast on Thursday. The band of rain will be slow, so areas ahead of it will stay largely dry and warm for October, with highs of 22 or 23C. In the northwest, a cold front will bring fresher conditions, with highs of 12 or 13C. Overnight winds will be strong, keeping temperatures up into Thursday morning. The south will see double digits, around 14 or 15C. A weather warning in northwestern Scotland expired after gusts reached around 70mph earlier in the day.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |
|---|---|
| Only on one channel | |
| A government task force held its first meeting to discuss drought lessons and winter flooding risk. | |
| Drought status covered around 50 million people and about 80% of England. | |
| Dry conditions were expected to worsen the ongoing drought. | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
ITV1 covered the drought through its national weather segment, framing it as a worsening situation driven by a strong high pressure system. The tone was factual and service-oriented, mixing forecast detail with public information about drought status, reservoir levels and the hosepipe ban. It also gave unusual specifics on pressure, the 2018 comparison and the government task force.
- “The dry conditions are only going to make the drought we're in currently worse.”
- “Only last week, Yorkshire declared drought status. The region now joins much of central, southern, and eastern England in drought status.”
- “So it's also important to remember that there is still a hosepipe ban in place.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.