Water scarcity report - 28 May 2026
A dry week across most of the country with more areas raised to Alert
This week’s key changes
- New areas raised to Alert this week: Deveron, Firth of Tay, Firth of Forth, Tyne (Lothian)
- New area raised to Early Warning this week: Leven (Dunbartonshire)
Map and water scarcity levels
What do the map colours mean?
| Water scarcity level | Region/Area(s) |
|---|---|
| Red Significant Scarcity |
None |
| Orange Moderate Scarcity |
None |
| Yellow Alert |
Deveron, Ythan, Firth of Tay, Firth of Forth, Tyne (Lothian) |
| Green Early Warning |
Wick, Helmsdale, Shin, Conon, Ness, Findhorn, Spey, Don (Aberdeenshire), Dee (Aberdeen), Esk, Tay, Earn, Forth, Almond, Tweed, Esk (Dumfriesshire), Annan, Nith, Dee (Galloway), Cree, Doon, Irvine and Ayr, Clyde, Leven (Dunbartonshire), Northwest Highlands, Naver, Thurso, Kintyre, Outer Hebrides, Orkney |
| Blue Normal Conditions |
The rest of the country |
Use the drought risk assessment tool to explore conditions through our interactive map. This tool shows the number of days that river flows have been very low and is used to help identify areas at greater risk of long-term ecological impacts. When river flows have been very low for 30 or more days, Significant Scarcity is reached. Data is updated daily at 0930 GMT / 1030 BST.
Conditions overview
- Rainfall - Recent rainfall has been mixed across the country, with conditions varying between normal and dry. Spring conditions were very dry across much of the east coast compared to normal.
- River flows - River flows are generally low to very low for the time of year across the country. Flows over the medium term have been widely very low across eastern Scotland.
- Soil moisture - Ground conditions are now dry in parts of the east. Elsewhere, most of the country remains quite dry, with parts of the west and north remaining at normal conditions.
- Groundwater levels - Groundwater levels are largely normal across much of the country, although there are very low levels at some monitoring locations in Fife and Angus.
Read in more detail our hydrological overview of the current conditions below.
Weather forecast
A few showers possible in the south on Thursday morning, otherwise mainly dry on Thursday. Showers or longer spells of rain will develop in the northwest on Thursday night and Friday, largely dry in the south and east. Outbreaks of rain, occasionally heavy, will move east on Saturday followed by showers on Sunday. Further rain will spread northeast on Monday.
Advice for water users
Everyone should plan to increase their resilience to the impacts of prolonged dry conditions. By taking the right steps now, it could help reduce the impact of water scarcity in the future. For further information visit Advice for abstractors and irrigators
Supporting information
This section goes into more detail on the data behind the water scarcity levels.
Rainfall and river flows
These maps show rainfall and river flows relative to the long-term average, for this time of year, over 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months.
Recent rainfall conditions have been normal to dry across most of the country, with the central belt most consistently quite dry. River flows are generally low to very low across Scotland.
Rainfall conditions over the past three months have been typically dry to very dry around the east coast, normal across the central belt, and normal to very wet elsewhere. This is broadly reflected in river flows, which have been low to very low around the east coast, normal to low across the central belt, and variable between quite low and very high elsewhere.
Over the past six months, much of the east of the country has experienced normal to very wet conditions. This is in contrast to the quite dry to very dry conditions along the Moray coast and further north. This contrast is reflected in the river flows, with normal to very high flows across much of eastern Scotland, while quite low to very low flows persist further north. In the south, conditions have been mostly normal to wet, with an area of quite dry to very dry conditions in the central belt. River flows here have been mixed, generally ranging from very high to low, but again with an area of consistent low to very low flows in the central belt.
What do the map colours mean?
| Rainfall | Extremely dry | Very dry | Dry | Quite dry | Normal Conditions | Wet | Very wet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| River flow | Extremely low | Very low | Low | Quite low | Normal Conditions | High | Very high |
| Red | Orange | Light orange | Yellow | Green | Light blue | Dark blue |
Soil moisture deficit
This map shows this week’s soil moisture deficit. This is obtained from the Met Office Rainfall and Evaporation Calculation System (MORECS).
Ground conditions are now dry in parts of the east. Elsewhere, most of the country remains quite dry, with parts of the west and north remaining at normal conditions.
What do the map colours mean?
| Extremely dry | Very dry | Dry | Quite dry | No deficit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red | Orange | Light orange | Yellow | Green |
Natural water storage – groundwater and loch levels
In each river catchment there is some degree of natural water storage, which can maintain river flows even when it is not raining. This natural water storage is mainly held in lochs and groundwater. When storage has been depleted it will take a lot of rainfall for levels to recover.
The maps below show recent groundwater and loch level compared to the long-term record at each individual station. Level is reported as high or low compared to the typical (‘normal’) level range for the time of year.
Level ranges are specific to each station and based on the long-term (minimum 10 years) record of mean monthly level values recorded at individual stations.
Following winter recharge, levels have begun to fall across the country. In the north-east the sustained heavy rainfall in January and February meant that groundwater levels recovered from the lowest levels on record during 2025 to close to the highest in February 2026 at some locations. Levels in Aberdeenshire are now within the normal range for April. However, low to very low levels for the time of year are seen at locations in Fife and Angus where the winter rainfall was not as extreme.
Groundwater levels in the south-west of the country are normal to high for the time of year and levels in the north of the country are normal for the time of the year.
April average loch levels range between normal and very high across Scotland.
What do the map colours mean?
| Very high | High | Normal range | Low | Very low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dark blue | Light blue | Light green | Light orange | Dark orange |
Flow, rainfall and groundwater data are accessed via SEPA's time series data service (API). SEPA's live data are subject to ongoing quality control and periodic review.
Scottish Water are responsible for public water supply and distribution in Scotland. Scottish Water reports on the raw water stored in these supplies.
Report copyright
- Current water scarcity levels - © SEPA. Some features of this information are based on digital spatial data licensed from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology © NERC (CEH). Contains OS data © Crown copyright (and database right).
- Areas of significant water scarcity - OS Data - © Crown Copyright - SEPA licence number 100016991 (2022)
- Rainfall, river flow, groundwater and loch levels - Base map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
- Soil moisture deficit - Data based on MORECS (Met Office © Crown Copyright). Some features of this information are based on digital spatial data licensed from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology © NERC (CEH). Contains OS data © Crown copyright (and database right). Base map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
- Weather forecast - Crown copyright [2022], Met Office