England drought recovery after wet November 2025

After weeks of rain, England’s drought story is changing. The National Drought Group says many affected areas are now in recovery after a November that reached 149% of the long‑term average, even as some towns faced flooding.

That rain didn’t fall evenly. The East Midlands saw 218% of its usual November rain-the wettest since 1871-and the West Midlands 185%, the wettest since 1970. After 21 weeks in drought, both moved into recovery. The North West is back to normal, the North East has entered recovery, Yorkshire is improving, and parts of Sussex remain in drought. Public reservoirs are about 79.8% full versus an 81.9% seasonal norm, with more updates due in the coming weeks.

Here’s a quick guide to the terms you’ll hear. Recovery means water levels are climbing back towards normal, but the drought isn’t over until rivers, groundwater and reservoirs are actually within typical ranges for the time of year. What this means: keep up water‑saving habits until levels are truly back to normal.

You can have flooding and drought at the same time. After long dry spells, soils can become hard and less able to absorb a sudden downpour. Water rushes off into rivers, raising flood risk, while deeper stores such as aquifers lag behind. Short, intense rain tops up rivers quickly but doesn’t always refill the underground ‘bank account’ we rely on in spring.

Science is doing more of the heavy lifting. The Environment Agency is working with The Alan Turing Institute on river‑flow modelling to spot early warning signs and judge how much water can be taken safely, while water companies test AI to find leaks and share data.

The Met Office points out that spring 2025 was the driest in 132 years and summer 2025 the hottest since records began in 1884. One wet autumn can’t reset that; several areas still need near‑normal rainfall through winter, likely until the end of March 2026, to avoid renewed drought.

So what can you do at home? Keep using water carefully even as rivers recover. Shorter showers, turning the tap off while brushing your teeth and shaving, and fixing any toilet that runs are habits that save water every day without much effort.

In the kitchen, scrape plates rather than pre‑rinse, and wash up in a bowl to capture water rather than letting the tap flow. Run full loads in the washing machine and check the machine’s eco settings. House plants often need less water in winter; feel the soil first rather than watering on autopilot.

In the garden, a water butt is a smart winter purchase. Use it to catch roof run‑off now and feed pots and beds later, especially during dry spells next year. If you like a mini‑experiment, measure how quickly your butt fills after a heavy shower to estimate how many litres you can save each week.

If you teach or study geography or science, try plotting this year’s rainfall figures against the long‑term average and discussing why timing matters. Ask: what’s the difference between surface water and groundwater? Why does a wet month not instantly fix a dry year? How should we judge recovery fairly?

For farmers and land managers, the advice is to plan early. Check whether your abstraction licence still covers your needs, speak to the Environment Agency if you’ll need flexibility, and store more winter rain where you can. Consider local water‑sharing arrangements with neighbours in case spring remains tight.

Accountability matters. About 19% of treated water is still lost to leaks, and companies are expected to cut this quickly and halve it by 2050. They report using acoustic loggers, replacing mains, rolling out smart meters and running customer schemes to lower demand.

There’s a policy deadline too: proposals to tighten water‑efficiency standards for new buildings are out to consultation until 16 December 2025, and ministers plan efficiency labels on white goods.

One last nudge: a ‘leaky loo’ can waste 200–400 litres a day, so fixing it may be your single biggest water win this winter.