UK at risk of droughts and wildfires as country heading for driest spring in over a century

21 May 2025, 13:29 | Updated: 21 May 2025, 13:38

The UK is set to record its driest spring in over a century, which puts the country at a significant risk of droughts and wildfires during the summer.

Droughts and wildfires are increasingly likely this summer due to a prolonged dry spell this spring, according to experts.

The extended spell of dry weather comes from areas of persistent high pressure - which bring dry, settled weather - that have been lingering over the country since February.

This is because of unusual behaviour from the jet stream, leading to what is known as a ‘blocking event’ in which the winds from the jet stream don’t move as quickly.

This has meant this year’s spring is much drier, sunnier and warmer than average.

It is set to break the record for the driest spring in over a century, as the country has only seen 80mm of rainfall so far this year - compared to the average 229mm.

This has put the country at a ‘medium’ risk of drought this summer, according to Defra. The last time the country was officially in drought was in 2022, when temperature hit 40C.

The situation this year is much worse than in 2022, however. Spring of 2022 saw around 78% of expected rainfall – spring of 2025 has only seen 35% rainfall.

Reservoir levels are also 10% lower this year than they were in 2022, which saw 19 million people banned from using their hosepipes.

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The UK has also been sunnier than usual this year. According to the Met office, March of 2025 was the UK’s third sunniest and England’s sunniest since records began in 1910.

April was even sunnier, registering as the UK’s sunniest since records began, with 47% more sunshine hours than average.

It was also warmer than usual, registering as the UK’s warmest month since 1884, putting the country at increased risk of wildfires.

The area of the UK burnt by wildfires this year is already higher than the total for any year in over a decade.

Scientists think climate change is affecting the jet stream, and could have caused the dry weather. Even if it did not, it has likely made the effects severely worse.

Tom Lancaster, Head of Land, Food and Farming at ECIU, said: “The rate at which climate records are happening is relentless. 2022 saw the hottest UK day ever, with dire impacts on potato and vegetable growers.

“2023/4 was then the wettest winter on record, in the middle of the wettest 18-month spell ever, ushering in one of the UK’s worst ever harvests.

“And before farmers have barely had time to take a breath, they are now hit by a near unprecedented dry spell that is leaving them and their crops withered and stressed.

“Farmers now desperately need more and better support to be able to adapt to these extremes. The outcome of the spending review in June will be pivotal to the future of UK farming and its resilience in the face of climate change.

“We know that climate change is already adding hundreds of pounds to shopping bills and until we reach net zero emissions, all of these extremes will continue to worsen and threaten our farmers and food supplies.”