The National Drought Group is made up of the Environment Agency, government, Met Office, water companies and others.
There are no official droughts in Wales and Northern Ireland at the moment. Scotland does not declare droughts but monitors “water scarcity”.
Parts of eastern Scotland are in “moderate” scarcity – the second most extreme category – which means there is “clear” environmental impact.
In England there is no single definition of drought, but it is ultimately caused by a prolonged period of low rainfall, which has knock-on effects for nature, agriculture and water supplies.
England had its driest spring in more than 100 years, followed by three heatwaves in quick succession for some areas in June and July.
That intense warmth has drawn even more moisture out of the soil.
So while it may be raining where you live today, it’s unlikely to be enough to bring water levels back to normal across the country.
The Environment Agency (EA) declares droughts in England based on reservoir levels, river flows and how dry the soil is, alongside long-term weather forecasts.
“We certainly expect more regions to enter drought status,” said Richard Thompson, deputy director of water resources at the EA, adding that further details would be announced later on Tuesday.
In a “reasonable worst-case scenario” – where regions get 80% of their long-term average rainfall – another five regions across central and southern England could enter drought status by September, joining Yorkshire and the North West, according to the EA.
Current long-term forecasts suggest roughly normal levels of rainfall over the next few months, however.