Thousands of UK households urged to 'use water wisely' as area one step closer to drought

Thousands of households and businesses have been urged to use water wisely in . Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has announced the country's Drought Liaison Group will meet on Thursday (May 22) to gauge whether more drastic action is needed.

It comes amid a prolonged spell of dry weather across the country this month which has prompted . As of last Friday, 80.6mm of rain was recorded for the UK this spring, almost 20mm less than the record low for the full season of 100.7mm set in 1852.

Welsh Water advised its customers to consider their water usage on Saturday (May 17), saying reservoir levels were lower than expected for the time of year.

Heulyn Gwyn Davies, the company's Head of Strategic Communications, told : "In the short term we are expecting some rainfall over the next week, what we believe and what we understand is that it's not sustained or prolonged rainfall which we would need."

Reservoirs and rivers supply about 95% of water in Wales, but levels are lower than expected for the time of year.

Wales has seen 99.3mm of rain so far this spring, which, according to provisional figures cited by ITV, is a third of the amount usually expected for the whole season.

In a usual year, Wales would by this time have received 87% of its spring rainfall.

Wales's Deputy First Minister told ITV it isn't just winter deluges people need to get used to, but also prolonged dry periods due to climate change.

Wales's experience is also evident in other parts of the UK. Earlier this month, the Environment Agency warned of a "medium" risk of drought in England this summer without sustained rainfall. The warning came as the country experienced its driest start to spring.

The regulator said on May 13 that there were no hosepipe bans planned, but warned water companies might have to implement measures, including restrictions, in the months ahead.

It also urged utilities to take action to cut leaks and help customers save water. Thames Water was among the firms for its 16 million customers if the weather stayed dry.

The spring dry spell is a marked change in the weather after England endured its wettest 12 months from October 2023 to September 2024, causing devastating flooding and leaving farmers struggling to get crops in the ground.

England's overall reservoir storage was 84% at the end of April, lower than at this time of year in the drought summer of 2022.

In north-west England it was 73%, while Haweswater and Thirlmere reservoirs in Cumbria were at 62%, due to a combination of low river levels and planned maintenance earlier in the year.

Scotland and Northern Ireland have seen their driest starts to the year for many decades, with Met Office average daily rainfall data analysed by the PA news agency showing Scotland recorded 281.8mm of rain from January 1 to May 11, the lowest figure for this period since comparable data began in 1931.

Northern Ireland recorded 232.9mm of rain from January 1 to May 11, the lowest figure since 1953.