One of the strangest weather years on record - a brutally freezing winter, very warm spring, cool summer and exceptionally mild autumn - has been unified by one thing, and that is much lower rainfall than average across much of the south, eastern England and the Midlands. Local records for low rainfall stretching back to 1910 have tumbled as the year has gone on, and November had provided no respite. As a result, water companies in the regions affected are beginning to factor drought orders into their forward plans for the winter and for 2012.
