Severe drought declared in parts of southern England

Severe drought has been declared in parts of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, East Sussex and West Sussex, the government has said.

The south of England had its driest April to September in over a century, according to the government's environmental department, Defra.

Water firms will be told to monitor reservoir and river levels daily, as well as carry out tougher water quality checks due to lower dilution of sewage.

The announcement has been prompted by concerns over two reservoirs in particular.

Ardingly in West Sussex, which serves about 95,000 properties, is only at 19% capacity, while Wimbleball in Somerset, which serves around 300,000 properties, is at 16% capacity.

Normal capacity for this time of year should be about 75%.

South East Water and South West Water have been given permission to cut the amount of water the reservoirs send to nearby rivers by millions of litres per day.

Defra said there were also concerns about levels in the Drift, Stithians, Tottiford and Venford reservoirs, which serve just over 100,000 households in Devon and Cornwall.

Yorkshire also entered drought status last week, joining all of central, southern and eastern England.

However, the south's upgrade to "severe drought" is the most urgent designation possible.

It is declared when evidence shows drought is causing - or will soon cause - serious harm, and that emergency action is needed.

Despite the urgency, it does not automatically trigger restrictions on customers' use.

South East Water and South West Water already have hosepipe bans in force. It remains to be seen if they will bring in further restrictions after today's announcement.

Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle said the country hadn't seen this level of drought "for decades".

"We are working closely with water companies to protect public supplies in the areas affected, and I'd continue to urge everyone to think about how they can use water wisely over the coming weeks," said Dame Angela.

'Under immense pressure'

The severe drought warning follows the latest meeting of the National Drought Group, which includes the likes of the Met Office, the government, water firms and the National Farmers' Union.

Environment Agency boss Philip Duffy said the summer heatwaves and severe drought had put supplies "under immense pressure".

"Recovery depends on both rainfall and how much water we use," he said.

"We cannot change the weather, but water companies can act now. We expect them to follow their drought plans and take the steps needed to secure public water supplies."

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Analysis of Met Office data by the Sky News Data x Forensics team shows weather stations across the affected counties recorded almost 40% less rain on average between April and September compared with a typical year.

The average total of 232mm in 2026 beats the record low of 239mm recorded in 1976, meaning 2026 was the driest April-September in at least 100 years.

Weather stations in Dorset received about half as much rain as normal during that six-month period.

During an exceptional two month dry spell between 15 June and 15 August, the Hurn weather station near Bournemouth Airport saw just 1.4mm of rain in total, just 1% of the more than 100mm it typically receives during that period.

Bognor Regis and Thorney Island in West Sussex also received less than 2% of normal rainfall during that mid-summer spell.

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As part of drought counter-measures, the Environment Agency said it would also increase checks on businesses that draw water from natural sources to ensure they are only taking permitted quantities.

The government said it was taking a number of steps to make water supplies more resilient in the coming years.

These include including £65m to help farmers affected by drought, and a strengthened Water Bill that will "take back control" of water companies and deliver nine new reservoirs by 2050.

(c) Sky News 2026: Severe drought declared in parts of southern England