Britain is still suffering drought, despite the fact that this month is set to be one of the wettest Aprils on record. Already some rivers have burst their banks, and the Environment Agency has warned thousands of householders that they are at risk from flooding.

Ironically, the flood warnings are for the same areas that are also in drought. Depending on the rainfall over the next few days, this could be Britain’s wettest April on record. But the rain won’t do much to ease the drought.

“The recent rain is good for farmers and gardeners, and the cool temperatures ease the pressure on fish and wildlife in rivers,” said Trevor Bishop, head of Water Resources at the Environment Agency. “But with dry soils most of the rain will be soaked up—or, worse still, run off quickly if the surface is compacted, causing flash floods.”

He warned that the rain “won’t reach down far enough to top up groundwater, which is what we really need.”

Bishop warned that most of Britain’s tap water in the drought-affected areas comes from groundwater. So while Britain’s rain will help farmers and gardeners, it comes at the wrong time of year to top up the groundwater levels and end Britain’s longer-term drought. Instead, some parts of Britain are both flooded and in drought.

This is yet another example of nature apparently turning on man. For information on why this is happening, read our free booklet Why ‘Natural’ Disasters?