This article documents the 2004–2006 drought in a hydrological framework with particular reference to its impact on water resources. The drought reached its maxi- mum intensity in the late summer of 2006 and it is impossible to assess fully the impact of the heat of July 2006 without considering the arid conditions over southern Britain at the time.
Droughts are multi-faceted in both their character and range of impacts. Indexing drought severity is far from straightforward, reflecting the difficulties in quantifying a phenomenon which varies in its extent, duration and intensity both regionally and locally. Rainfall deficiencies are an obvious starting point but the unusual temporal distribution of rainfall throughout most of the 2004–2006 period means that, used alone, they provide a very incomplete index of drought intensity. Correspondingly, in this appraisal river flow and groundwater level variations are the preferred indices of the water resources stress experienced dur- ing much of 2004–2006.
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