The majority of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties are no longer under drought warnings, according to the latest information from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

Even though 42 counties have been moved to “normal” status — up from 20 in early April — most of the local area remains under a drought watch.

The latest information from DEP’s Drought Task Force notes that 20 counties, including Carbon, Monroe, Northampton and Schuylkill, are in a drought watch.

The four’s status remains unchanged since early April.

Lehigh County had its status improved to a drought watch from a drought warning.

The remaining five counties are under drought warnings. No counties are in drought emergencies.

“Conditions have improved across western Pennsylvania,” DEP noted. “However, there is still significant recovery needed in many areas of Pennsylvania, and why Watch and Warning Declarations continue in many counties.”

DEP noted that other areas of Pennsylvania may also be experiencing localized drought issues. As a result, residents are encouraged to voluntarily conserve water.

At the beginning of the year, Schuylkill, Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties were under drought warnings, and Monroe County was in a drought watch.

The National Weather Service notes that Carbon County typically receives about 13.7 inches of precipitation by this time of year, and is about 1.6 inches behind.

Schuylkill County, which sees an average of 12.7 inches of precipitation by now, is 1.6 inches behind.

Monroe is about 1.6 inch short of its average of 13.7 inches, and Lehigh has a deficit of 1.4 inches from its usual 12.5 inches. The National Weather Service notes that each of those four counties are between 11 and 25 percent below average.

Northampton County is seeing about 1.1 inch less than its usual 12.9 inches of precipitation, or about 10 percent below average.

To determine drought declarations, DEP looks at stream flow, groundwater levels, precipitation and soil moisture.