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The Environment Agency has lifted its drought ban in 19 counties of the UK.

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Drought now official in south east England

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The dramatic switch from drought and hosepipe bans in England this spring to the wettest April to June ever and widespread flooding was of a magnitude never seen before, water experts said on Thursday.

While water supplies have made "dramatic" recoveries from droughts before, such as in 1975-76, "sustained recoveries of this magnitude during the late spring and summer have not been seen before," said Terry Marsh, from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH).

Earlier this month, the CEH said that following the wet summer, groundwater levels were above and "well above" the average for early autumn.

The Environment Agency (EA), which is responsible for drought measures and flood defences, said the extreme weather showed the need for the UK to adopt greater resilience to protect homes, roads and power stations.

Christine Tuckett of the EA said: "The weather extremes which we've seen this year - with widespread floods almost immediately following a long-term drought - have brought the importance of resilience into sharp focus. Taking action today to prepare and adapt our homes, businesses, and infrastructure is vital."

Sarah Jackson, chief adviser to the government at the Met Office, was reported by the Press Association as saying: "We are coming into a period [November to April] which is traditionally the wetter period. Because the ground is so wet, if we do have any prolonged heavy rainfall in any part of the country, there is going to be heightened risk."

Thousands of homes across the country have been hit by flooding in the past few months, with the Guardian revealing in July that hundreds of flood defences have gone unbuilt due to budget cuts. Officials at the EA said homeowners should sign up to flood warnings to avoid "the worst impacts of flooding".

In January, flooding was ranked as the number one impact of climate change in the UK, in the government's first comprehensive assessment of how global warming will affect the country. It estimated up to 3.5 million people will be at flooding risk by 2050, as temperatures rise.

"There is some hint but we certainly can't say categorically that the rainfall we've seen this summer is a consequence of climate change," said Jackson.

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UK's year of drought and flooding unprecedented, experts say

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The dramatic switch from drought and hosepipe bans in England this spring to the wettest April to June ever and widespread flooding was of a magnitude never seen before, water experts said on Thursday.

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Water companies, supported by government policy and regulation, should be retrofitting homes to make them water-efficient, on a scale of whole towns, and working with customers to help them waste less water year in and year out. Short-term water efficiency measures and messages are certainly important at the height of drought.

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Drought has spread in England, with parts of East and South Yorkshire now officially affected.

The Environment Agency said public water supplies should not be affected, but lower river and groundwater levels meant businesses and farmers taking water from rivers should use it wisely.

The agency has already declared drought in areas of the South East and East Anglia.

Seven water companies in those areas are to impose hosepipe bans on 5 April.

Yorkshire Water said it did not anticipate any restrictions such as hosepipe bans for the time being.

In a statement, the company said it would constantly review the situation "as the dry weather continues".

"Our regional water supply system gives us flexibility, what it doesn't give us is an unlimited supply of water, so we would always encourage our customers to only use what they need, when they need it."

As the warm spell across the UK continued on Tuesday, firefighters were involved in tackling blazes in North Yorkshire, south Wales, Dumfries and Galloway and the Borders.

The grassland fires in Scotland, which had broken out on Monday afternoon, took until Tuesday evening to extinguish.

Owing to clear conditions and its elevated position across a front of 1km-2km, the Dumfries blaze was visible as far away as Workington in Cumbria.

A Royal Navy helicopter from HMS Gannet at Prestwick was used to move firefighters and equipment across the remote hillside.

On Hanging Moor, in Thruscross, it took more than 35 firefighters almost 12 hours to bring a blaze under control, after being called to the scene early on Tuesday afternoon.

In south Wales on Tuesday, a grass fire spread to a house, garage and electricity poles near Pontardawe in the Swansea Valley, while forestry in the Rhondda Fach was also hit by a spreading grass fire.

The Environment Agency has warned that above-average rainfall could be required in coming weeks if drought is not to spread more widely.

Two dry winters have led to concerns that wetlands, ponds and streams could dry out, damaging wildlife including amphibians, aquatic insects and wading birds.

The Environment Agency offers water-saving tips including:

Don't leave the tap running while brushing teeth, shaving or washing hands

Reuse bath water for house plants or in the garden

If letting the tap run until water gets hot, collect and use to water plants

Keep a jug of water in the fridge, to avoid running tap until water gets cold

Wash fruit and vegetables in a bowl rather than under running tap

Wash cars with a bucket. Or not at all - just keep headlights, mirrors and windows clean

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Drought has spread in England, with parts of East and South Yorkshire now officially affected. The Environment Agency said public water supplies should not be affected, but lower river and groundwater levels meant businesses and farmers taking water from rivers should use it wisely.

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The Environment Agency says similar measures are unlikely to be enforced this summer, but warns the dry conditions will damage the environment and lead to widespread water restrictions.

"The lack of rain is taking its toll on the environment and farmers - causing problems for wildlife, wetlands and crop production," a spokesman said.

"Companies and consumers must all play their part by using water wisely to help conserve supplies."

According to the Environment Agency, an area is in drought when the lack of rainfall has a "material effect on the environment".

Drought has already been declared across London, East Anglia and the South after the eighth-driest year on record, affecting more than 20 million people and leading to water restrictions.

Today the Environment Agency announces that 17 counties across the South West and the Midlands are now in drought, affecting a further 15 million people. While water companies in the new drought areas say they have no plans to introduce hosepipe bans, they are urging customers to conserve water. Dr Barnaby Smith, an executive at the Government-funded Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, said that in parts of England river levels are lower than they were in April 1976. East Anglia is thought to be the most badly affected area.

"There are parts of the country that are, for the time of year, in a worse position than in 1976, hydrologically speaking," said Dr Smith.

Caroline Spelman, the Environment Secretary, is urging households to cut back on the amount of water they use.

"As more areas of the UK move into drought it is vital that we use less water to protect the public's water supply in the driest areas of the country," she said. "It is for everyone to share the responsibility to save water. We are asking everyone to help by using less water and starting now."

The drought is so severe in parts of Britain that plans are being drawn up to trade water between two regions for the first time to supply more than 100,000 homes in the worst-hit areas.

Severn Trent aims to sell 30 million litres of water a day to Anglian Water, one of the seven companies that have imposed a hosepipe ban, to help ease the shortage.

A former head of Welsh Water said last week that Wales should profit from transferring water to England.

John Elfed Jones, former chairman and chief executive of the company, says water is a business and, like oil, it should be sold to make money.

Ciaran Nelson, a spokesman for Anglian Water, said that constant rainfall was needed "for weeks if not months" to reverse the current situation. "We have had less rainfall in the last 18 months than in the last century," he said.

Anglers and environmentalists fear that the River Severn, which is experiencing a "dire" lack of rainfall, could be reduced to a "trickle" within months.

Wildlife campaigners said that if the conditions continue, plants and animals that rely on the 220-mile waterway for survival will be endangered.

The chairman of Shropshire Anglers Federation, Sir John Roberts, said that over the past five years general rainfall levels had been falling.

"Last year was bad but this year is worse because we haven't had the rain through the winter," he said.

"April seems to be working as we expected, but we could do with a month's worth of constant rain to bring things back to where they should be. We are in dire straits. When we hit high summer, the River Severn could be a trickle."

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The Environment Agency says similar measures are unlikely to be enforced this summer, but warns the dry conditions will damage the environment and lead to widespread water restrictions. "The lack of rain is taking its toll on the environment and farmers - causing problems for wildlife, wetlands and crop production," a spokesman said.

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Much of central, eastern and southern England and Wales experienced a prolonged period of below average rainfall from 2010 to early 2012