England faces driest spring in seven decades: risk of water crisis grows

The United Kingdom is experiencing its driest spring since 1956, according to an alarming report published by the British Environment Agency. The severe lack of rainfall in the first months of 2025 has fueled fears of a possible drought in the summer months.

• Three consecutive months of drought

According to the report, cited by AFP, the period February-April 2025 was the driest in the last 69 years. April marked the third consecutive month with rainfall levels below the multi-year average, while the beginning of May continued the same alarming trend. "In some regions, such as the northeast and northwest of England, the first four months of the year were the driest since 1929," the Environment Agency said.

• Imminent risk of drought

In response to the critical situation, the British authorities have convened the drought task force. According to Richard Thompson, deputy director for water resources at the agency, climate change will lead to more frequent droughts during the summer, in the coming decades. "Although the last two years have been among the wettest on record in England, the current dry conditions create the prerequisites for a drought in 2025," the official warned.

• Emergency measures

To prevent water shortages in the most affected regions, water companies have begun interregional transfers of water reserves, announced Water UK, the organization that represents British drinking water suppliers. This mobilization comes in the context in which extreme weather events are becoming increasingly frequent in the UK, as a direct effect of global warming.

• Climate records in the making

Europe is the continent with the fastest temperature rise in the world - warming twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s. The UK is feeling the effects strongly, with temperatures exceeding 40°C for the first time in July 2022. On 1 May 2025, London recorded a new record of 29.3°C, in a spring already characterised by the sunniest April in British meteorological records. If the lack of rainfall persists, authorities are preparing for possible water restrictions, and agriculture, biodiversity and public health could be directly affected.