{"id":3493,"date":"2025-07-10T15:52:53","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T14:52:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/flooding-and-drought\/groundwater-drought-research-overview\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T16:13:26","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T15:13:26","slug":"groundwater-drought","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/flooding-and-drought\/groundwater-drought\/","title":{"rendered":"Drought"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t\t<section class=\"hero-section hero-section-with-social\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hero-info-wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"row\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"hero-info\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h1>Groundwater drought<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"social-wrap social-wrap-inline-them\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"sea-background-f\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<span>Share this article<\/span><a target=\"_blank\"  href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/flooding-and-drought\/groundwater-drought\/\"><span class=\"icon-facebook\"><span class=\"hidden\">Facebook<\/span><\/span><\/a><a target=\"_blank\"  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Drought&#038;url=https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/flooding-and-drought\/groundwater-drought\/\"><span class=\"icon-twitter\"><span class=\"hidden\">Twitter<\/span><\/span><\/a><a   onclick=\"javascript:void( (function() {var e=document.createElement('script' );e.setAttribute('type','text\/javascript' );e.setAttribute('charset','UTF-8' );e.setAttribute('src','\/\/assets.pinterest.com\/js\/pinmarklet.js?r='+Math.random()*99999999);document.body.appendChild(e)})());\"  href=\"javascript:void(0);\"><span class=\"icon-pinterest\"><span class=\"hidden\">Pinterest<\/span><\/span><\/a><a target=\"_blank\"  href=\"https:\/\/wa.me?text=https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/flooding-and-drought\/groundwater-drought\/\"><span class=\"icon-whatsapp\"><span class=\"hidden\">WhatsApp<\/span><\/span><\/a><a   href=\"mailto:?subject=Drought&#038;body=Understanding%20how%20groundwater%20droughts%20occur%20and%20their%20effects%20on%20people%20and%20the%20environment.%20(https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/flooding-and-drought\/groundwater-drought\/)\"><span class=\"icon-mail\"><span class=\"hidden\">Email<\/span><\/span><\/a><a href=\"#\" data-copy=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/flooding-and-drought\/groundwater-drought\/\" class=\"copy-url-on-click\"><span class=\"icon-link\"><span class=\"hidden\">Copy Link<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\n\n\n<section class=\"wp-block-bgs-blocks-content-container content-section\"><div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row\"><div class=\"col-12\">\n<p>Groundwater provides water even during periods of lower than average rainfall, when surface waters dry up. However, this resilient resource can still fail if rainfall is reduced over a long period. BGS is working to better understand how groundwater droughts occur and the effects they have on people and the environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Groundwater drought can have significant negative social and economic impacts on communities that are particularly reliant on groundwater.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure  class=\"img-wrap\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/10\/P584699.jpg\" class=\"lazy-blur\" alt=\"A dry stream bed\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/10\/P584699.jpg\" \/><figcaption class=\"caption sm-line\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-content\/themes\/bgs\/img\/info-caption.svg\" alt=\"Information icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-text\"><p>Dry stream bed of River Till, Berwick St James, Wiltshire, in 2004. BGS \u00a9 UKRI.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is a groundwater drought?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Groundwater drought is the sustained and extensive occurrence of below average availability of groundwater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Aquifers in the UK are usually replenished with water during the winter months, so groundwater droughts may develop if there is reduced rainfall over one or successive winters. Groundwater drought can be exacerbated by high demand for water during unusually hot or particularly dry summers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Groundwater droughts are marked by lower than average water levels in aquifers, borehole and wells, and by reduced flows to groundwater-fed rivers and wetlands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why is groundwater important during surface water droughts?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Groundwater is an important part of the UK&#8217;s water supply. It is generally more resilient to drought than surface water due to the relatively slow response of groundwater to changes in rainfall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At times of surface-water drought, groundwater becomes a critical national resource. As well as providing domestic, agricultural and industrial water supplies, groundwater supports ecologically important flows in many of our rivers during episodes of drought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">BGS drought research<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>We have been researching groundwater drought in the UK and internationally for many year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/water-resources\/groundwater-drought\/european-groundwater-drought-initiative\/\">European Groundwater Drought Initiative<\/a>&nbsp;(GDI) was a collaborative project that assessed and modelled groundwater-drought status across Europe, investigated the impacts of groundwater drought, and built a community to grow our understanding of the phenomenon of groundwater drought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>BGS and the&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ceh.ac.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology<\/a>&nbsp;(UKCEH) produce a monthly assessment of groundwater resources in the UK. We advise environmental regulators and government departments on groundwater resources during drought episodes.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure  class=\"img-wrap\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/10\/P802060.jpg\" data-toggle=\"lightbox\" data-footer=\"&lt;p&gt;Neuadd Reservoir north of Merthyr Tydfil during the 1976 drought. BGS \u00a9 UKRI.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-gallery=\"gallery_87881\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/10\/P802060.jpg\" class=\"lazy-blur\" alt=\"P802060\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/10\/P802060.jpg\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"caption sm-line\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-content\/themes\/bgs\/img\/info-caption.svg\" alt=\"Information icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"caption-text\"><p>Neuadd Reservoir north of Merthyr Tydfil during the 1976 drought. BGS \u00a9 UKRI.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"expand-box expand-box-top\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/10\/P802060.jpg\" ><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-content\/themes\/bgs\/img\/expand.svg\" alt=\"Expand icon\"><\/a><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Understanding UK groundwater droughts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The UK has experienced several groundwater droughts over recent decades; BGS hydrogeologists have investigated some of these to better understand how future groundwater droughts may develop. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We are also undertaking a systematic analysis of groundwater droughts in the UK for the whole of the 20th century. The aim of this work is to improve how groundwater droughts are monitored and predicted in the future by investigating the relationship between the length of droughts and the area affected by droughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to these drought assessments, BGS produces <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/geology-projects\/environmental-modelling\/groundwater-level-forecasting\/\">groundwater level forecasts<\/a>\u00a0for the UK&#8217;s principal aquifers, with these forecasts feeding into a number of services that build national resilience to groundwater\u00a0extremes, including monthly <a href=\"https:\/\/hydoutuk.net\/\">hydrological outlooks<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Reports describing groundwater droughts can also be found at the <a href=\"http:\/\/nrfa.ceh.ac.uk\/nhmp\">National Hydrological Monitoring Programme<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">UK and European Drought Assessments<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>BGS and UKCEH staff have produced assessments of the following droughts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/nora.nerc.ac.uk\/15011\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">1975 to 1976<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/nora.nerc.ac.uk\/id\/eprint\/6953\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">1984<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/nora.nerc.ac.uk\/id\/eprint\/6952\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">1988 to 1992<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/nora.nerc.ac.uk\/id\/eprint\/510184\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2003<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/nora.nerc.ac.uk\/id\/eprint\/510185\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2004 to 2006<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/nora.nerc.ac.uk\/id\/eprint\/503643\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2010 to 2012<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/nora.nerc.ac.uk\/id\/eprint\/517204\/\">2015 to 2016<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"color: initial;\">2018 to 2019 in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/nora.nerc.ac.uk\/id\/eprint\/530554\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the UK<\/a><span style=\"color: initial;\">\u00a0and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/nora.nerc.ac.uk\/id\/eprint\/531218\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Europe<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/nora.nerc.ac.uk\/id\/eprint\/537057\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2022<\/a>\u00a0(and an <a href=\"https:\/\/nora.nerc.ac.uk\/id\/eprint\/537895\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">update on drought preparedness<\/a>\u00a0in Europe)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Groundwater droughts in Africa<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>BGS researchers have worked extensively to understand how\u00a0groundwater droughts in Africa\u00a0affect the livelihoods of people who depend on groundwater. In particular, our work has highlighted the importance of the links between availability, access and demand for groundwater during droughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our investigations of how groundwater droughts end and how groundwater flows to rivers are re-established at the end of drought episodes will assist future predictions of drought duration and effects.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n\t\t<section id=\"in-this-section-6024-block_ef252f75c2f8be16d384bbe1637d4dce\" class=\"grid-section  sea-background-e   \" >\n\t\t\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"row header-of-section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2>Our research<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"row grid-wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col-md-6 col-lg-4\">\n\t<div class=\"cards-over-img cards  cards-find-more \">\n\t\t<a class=\"media-wrap\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/flooding-and-drought\/groundwater-drought\/european-groundwater-drought-initiative\/\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/11\/Mud_cracks_and_rain_drops_19182743783-1.jpg\" class=\"lazy-blur wp-post-image\" alt=\"Mud_cracks_and_rain_drops_(19182743783)\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/11\/Mud_cracks_and_rain_drops_19182743783-1.jpg\" \/>\t<\/a>\n\t\t<div class=\"info-wrap\">\n\t\t<div class=\"info\">\n\t\t\t<h2><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/flooding-and-drought\/groundwater-drought\/european-groundwater-drought-initiative\/\">European Groundwater Drought Initiative<\/a><\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Assessing, investigating and understanding groundwater drought across Europe.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/flooding-and-drought\/groundwater-drought\/european-groundwater-drought-initiative\/\"><\/a>\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\n\n<section class=\"cta-section  sea-background-e \">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row md-row\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12\">\n\t\t\t\t<h2>Need more information?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"btn-wrap\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/people\/macdonald-alan\/\"  class=\"button primary-background   \">Contact Alan MacDonald<\/a><\/div>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Understanding how groundwater droughts occur and their effects on people and the environment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3534,"parent":6372,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"1","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3493","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Drought - BGS Groundwater<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/flooding-and-drought\/groundwater-drought\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Drought - BGS Groundwater\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Understanding how groundwater droughts occur and their effects on people and the environment.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/flooding-and-drought\/groundwater-drought\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"BGS Groundwater\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-31T15:13:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/07\/P584699-thumb.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"672\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/flooding-and-drought\/groundwater-drought\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/flooding-and-drought\/groundwater-drought\/\",\"name\":\"Drought - BGS Groundwater\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/flooding-and-drought\/groundwater-drought\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/flooding-and-drought\/groundwater-drought\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/07\/P584699-thumb.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-10T14:52:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-31T15:13:26+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/flooding-and-drought\/groundwater-drought\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/flooding-and-drought\/groundwater-drought\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/flooding-and-drought\/groundwater-drought\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/07\/P584699-thumb.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/07\/P584699-thumb.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":672,\"caption\":\"Dry stream bed of River Till, Wiltshire, England. BGS \u00a9 UKRI.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/flooding-and-drought\/groundwater-drought\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Extremes\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/flooding-and-drought\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Drought\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/\",\"name\":\"BGS Groundwater\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/#organization\",\"name\":\"BGS Groundwater\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/11\/BGS_Groundwater_pos.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/11\/BGS_Groundwater_pos.svg\",\"width\":547,\"height\":136,\"caption\":\"BGS Groundwater\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Drought - BGS Groundwater","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/flooding-and-drought\/groundwater-drought\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Drought - BGS Groundwater","og_description":"Understanding how groundwater droughts occur and their effects on people and the environment.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/flooding-and-drought\/groundwater-drought\/","og_site_name":"BGS Groundwater","article_modified_time":"2026-03-31T15:13:26+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":672,"url":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/07\/P584699-thumb.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Estimated reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/flooding-and-drought\/groundwater-drought\/","url":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/flooding-and-drought\/groundwater-drought\/","name":"Drought - BGS Groundwater","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/flooding-and-drought\/groundwater-drought\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/flooding-and-drought\/groundwater-drought\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/07\/P584699-thumb.jpg","datePublished":"2025-07-10T14:52:53+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-31T15:13:26+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/flooding-and-drought\/groundwater-drought\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/flooding-and-drought\/groundwater-drought\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/flooding-and-drought\/groundwater-drought\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/07\/P584699-thumb.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/07\/P584699-thumb.jpg","width":1000,"height":672,"caption":"Dry stream bed of River Till, Wiltshire, England. BGS \u00a9 UKRI."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/flooding-and-drought\/groundwater-drought\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Extremes","item":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/flooding-and-drought\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Drought"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/","name":"BGS Groundwater","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/#organization","name":"BGS Groundwater","url":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/11\/BGS_Groundwater_pos.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/11\/BGS_Groundwater_pos.svg","width":547,"height":136,"caption":"BGS Groundwater"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3493"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3493\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8195,"href":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3493\/revisions\/8195"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6372"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bgs.ac.uk\/groundwater\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}