How we got to severe drought and what is next

Figure caption, There are particular concerns about the levels at Wimbleball Reservoir in Exmoor

At the start of 2026, records were broken for the amount of rain to fall in Devon and Cornwall.

By summer, the South West was declared as being in a drought, and now, in mid-October this has been escalated to severe drought in parts of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, East Sussex and West Sussex.

South West Water said water resources remained under "significant pressure", and there was "no significant rain forecast in the coming weeks".

Over December, January and February, Cornwall recorded its wettest winter in 190 years, with rain totals reaching about 150% of the long-term average.

The weather station at Cardinham near Bodmin had 55 consecutive days of rain .