Historic drought persists in Spain

BARCELONA, Spain, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) — Most areas in southern and northeastern Spain are grappling with a historic drought now in its fourth year, despite recent storms, the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) reported on Friday.
While the national reservoir capacity averages 48 percent, the southern region of Andalusia and northeastern Catalonia are far worse off, with average capacities at 29 and 27 percent, respectively. Some reservoirs in these regions have reported levels as low as 15 percent.
This week, Andalusia’s drought commission imposed a limit on water consumption of 180 liters per inhabitant per day in some areas.
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. ■