diff --git a/esmvaltool/utils/draft_release_notes.py b/esmvaltool/utils/draft_release_notes.py
index 1812f94fa8..d00e752455 100644
--- a/esmvaltool/utils/draft_release_notes.py
+++ b/esmvaltool/utils/draft_release_notes.py
@@ -41,8 +41,8 @@
 }
 
 PREVIOUS_RELEASE = {
-    'esmvalcore': datetime.datetime(2022, 7, 15, 18),
-    'esmvaltool': datetime.datetime(2022, 7, 25, 18),
+    'esmvalcore': datetime.datetime(2022, 10, 13, 18),
+    'esmvaltool': datetime.datetime(2022, 10, 28, 18),
 }
 
 
@@ -184,6 +184,7 @@ def _get_pull_requests(project):
         state='closed',
         sort='updated',
         direction='desc',
+        base='main',
     )
     return pulls