The State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) said on Friday that despite recent storms, the majority of southern and northeastern Spain is experiencing a historic drought that is now in its fourth year.
The average reservoir capacity in the country is 48%, although the average capacities in the northeastern Catalonia and the southern province of Andalusia are much lower—29% and 27%, respectively. There have been reports of levels as low as 15% in certain reservoirs in certain regions.
According to Xinhua news agency, this week Andalusia’s drought committee set a daily water use limit of 180 liters per resident.
The southern part of the Iberian Peninsula is experiencing “the longest-lasting drought on record,” Ruben del Campo, spokesman for the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet), said in a statement. “There hasn’t been a drought that has lasted so long since the 1960s.”
Andalusia’s regional president, Juanma Moreno, has called for increased resources from the European Union to develop infrastructure that enables drought-stricken areas to “maximize and reuse every drop of water,” he said during a visit to Brussels this week.
The regional government of Catalonia anticipates an emergency situation in spring 2025 if rainfall this autumn and winter is lower than last year. According to del Campo, the region is experiencing the most intense drought due to insufficient rain, and rising temperatures from climate change are making droughts more frequent.
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Source: Lokmat Times
