Water storage deficits are currently affecting much of England and Wales, according to the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. Meteorologists use soil moisture deficit (SMD) to describe drought conditions, measuring how much rain is needed to bring soil back to field capacity.
In southern England, the driest areas would require "unusually high rainfall" to address the current deficit by the end of this month. However, these deficits are predicted to persist over the next six months.
In contrast, soils in western Scotland are slightly wetter than average for this time of year.