Drought has been declared in Yorkshire due to a lack of spring and summer rainfall, the Environment Agency has confirmed.
Fifth-driest period on record
Vicki Townend, the agency's environment manager for Yorkshire, said the region had experienced its fifth-driest April to September period on record.
"This ongoing lack of rainfall means the flow in rivers and groundwater levels in certain parts of our area are very low and have now reached our trigger for declaring a drought," she said.
Recovery will take time
"Even if we receive a few weeks of rain, we cannot quickly reverse the effects of the lack of rainfall during a very dry spring and summer. We will continue to closely monitor the situation and implement our Yorkshire Drought Plan."
The Environment Agency has warned that climate change will make extreme weather, including drier summers, more frequent.
Public urged to use less water
"As we see more impacts from climate change, heavier rainfall and drier summers will become more frequent," Townend added.
"We encourage people to be aware of the impacts of drought and use a little less water to speed up the recovery from drought."
