(Image: Newsquest)
Yorkshire has officially entered drought status, the Environment Agency has confirmed.
The announcement was made today (Friday, October 9), following prolonged dry conditions across the region.
Low rainfall during spring and summer has led to the drought declaration, despite some recent rainfall.
Ironically, the announcement comes on a day when Bradford has seen some of its heaviest rainfall for months, although the drought status is a reflection of the long, dry conditions over the summer.
Vicki Townend, area environment manager for the Environment Agency in Yorkshire, said: "The Yorkshire area has had the fifth driest April to September 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.
Bradford during the summer (Image: Newsquest)
"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.
"As we see more impacts from climate change, heavier rainfall and drier summers will become more frequent.
"We encourage people to be aware of the impacts of drought and use a little less water to speed up the recovery from drought."
Ogden Water in August (Image: Wild Yorkshire Style)
Yorkshire now joins central, southern, and eastern England in drought status, while the North East and North West remain in a state of prolonged dry weather.
The Environment Agency and the Government are monitoring the actions of water companies to ensure they are following statutory drought plans.
The National Drought Group, which includes the government, Met Office, regulators, water companies, farmers, Canal & River Trust, anglers, and conservation experts, is now meeting weekly to monitor the situation and coordinate action as part of the heightened incident response.
Water minister Emma Hardy said: "The recent rainfall is not yet enough to replenish all the water we've used over the spring and summer, and the Yorkshire drought declaration highlights that the situation is still serious.
"The Government is carefully monitoring the actions of all water companies, and expects them to follow their drought plans, quickly fix leaks, and reduce demand.
"Long-term resilience against our changing climate is a priority for this government.
"Our strengthened Water Bill will start a decade-long journey to a very different water system, including nine new major reservoirs to secure supplies."
The Environment Agency is stepping up monitoring and processing drought permit applications that could allow water companies to reduce the volume of water released into rivers.
Members of the public are encouraged to report environmental incidents to the Environment Agency’s 24/7 hotline on 0800 807060.