The 2010–2012 drought in England and Wales

The inherent variability of the UK ’s climate achieved an extreme expression in 2012 when one of the most significant prolonged droughts for a century was dramatically terminated by the wettest April to July over England and Wales in almost 250 years. Through late spring and summer, runoff and aquifer recharge rates increased steeply and there were numerous instances of flooding, underlining a hydrological transformation with no close modern parallel at this time of year. This paper reviews the development, severity and impacts of the 2010–2012 drought. It is intended that a companion paper will examine the exceptionally wet conditions which began in April 2012 and resulted in runoff and aquifer recharge patterns very rarely experienced during the summer half‐year.