UK had just 47% of the average rainfall for the month but water companies say there is no need to panic

One of the driest Aprils on record could ruin crops in the most arid parts of the country if it does not start raining soon, farmers have warned.

Whisky and beer production could be affected if May and June prove similarly dry, with crops such as malting barley particularly vulnerable if not given enough water when they sprout in spring, according to Guy Smith, the vice-chair of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU). “A good May may put them back on track but it’s last chance saloon for them,” he said.

The UK as a whole experienced just 47% of the average April rainfall. Southern England was the driest area, with 16mm, most of which fell at the end of the month, the Met Office said.

Smith, an arable farmer in St Osyth, near Clacton in Essex, which once held the Guinness World Record for driest place in Britain, said his farm had received just 10% of the rain he would normally expect in April. “If that pattern carries on, we are looking at producing half our normal harvest,” he said.

“Even as far away as Scotland we are hearing of arable farmers whose crops are worryingly dry. Some of the old boys are reminiscing about 1976, when we had a similar run of dry weather through March and April, which carried on right through May, June and July. I remember my dad had less than half of his anticipated harvest.”

Smith said he was concerned but not yet panicking. “It’s a bit early to write off this year’s harvest because most of our crops are most responsive to May and June rainfall. ‘It’s rain in June that leaves your farm in tune,’ my old dad used to say.”



The lowest rainfall totals of anywhere in the UK last month were in Edinburgh (Gogarbank at only 3.2mm and Botanic Gardens with 4mm – 7% and 10% of average respectively), closely followed by London (Hampton at 3.8mm and St James Park at 4.2mm, both 9% of average).

David Knott, the curator of the Living Collection at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, said it had experienced the driest April since 1959. “What visitors are noticing is that our grass in some parts is looking a wee bit parched, something we normally only expect in July and August during a heatwave,” he said.

Gardeners there have been intervening earlier than usual by watering “moisture-loving” plants such as rhododendrons and himalayan blue poppies, he added.

The other unusual thing about April was that the dry conditions were not accompanied by significant temperature increases, with the UK mean temperature just 0.6°C higher than average for the month.

Water companies said there was no need to panic, with Scottish Water, Yorkshire Water and United Utilities, which supplies water in the north-west of England, all saying reservoir stocks were more or less normal.

Neil Dewis, the head of water production for Yorkshire Water, said: “It’s been a relatively dry winter and spring in Yorkshire so some reservoirs are lower than we would expect at this time of year, although there’s no cause for concern at this point.”

A Scottish Water spokeswoman said: “Overall, reservoir stocks are generally high and there are presently no customer supply issues arising from a lack of water resources. While it has been drier in some areas than others, we are able to manage our resources accordingly.”

The Met Office is forecasting rain for some of the country towards the end of the week.

The hydrological outlook for May, produced by the National Environment Research Council’s Centre for Ecology and Hydrology on Tuesday, predicts lower than normal river flows in south-east England over the next three months. The English lowlands where a number of rivers registered no more than half their average flow in April, are likely to be particularly badly affected.

The rainfall outlook for May (released by the Met Office on 27 April) suggests that below-average precipitation is considered more probable than above-average across the UK.