Several Spanish areas are experiencing a long-lasting drought, which is forcing local governments to enforce rules to reduce water consumption.
The areas most affected are, incidentally, those most beloved by tourists – Catalonia, Valencia, Murcia and Andalusia.
As reservoir levels run worryingly dry, are you worried this extreme weather condition may affect your summer holidays?
In Andalusia, where millions of tourists flock every year, the reservoirs are only 25.43 percent full.
The city with the driest reservoirs is Almeria, where over the past week the water level fell by a further 0.45 percent to an astonishing 8.48 percent.
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Reservoir levels are only slightly better in Murcia, at 26.35 percent, while in Catalonia are at 42.15 percent.
As no rainfall is seemingly on the horizon in the latter region, according to weather forecasters, authorities in Barcelona sent last month 24,000 warning letters to residents accused of consuming “excessive amounts of water”.
This measure was adopted weeks after the region banned a series of water-consuming activities, including filling private swimming pools, watering gardens and washing cars.
Authorities in the regions most affected by the drought may soon enforce cuts for the tourist sectors.
On February 5, Jorge Vázquez, regional delegate for Tourism, Culture and Sport in the Andalusian province of Cádiz said: “The drought is a serious problem that concerns us all and the tourism industry is no stranger to it. We are on standby, because we have a serious problem if it doesn’t rain, as this would lead to cuts in the water supply for the tourist sector as well.
“For this reason, we are working hand in hand with the professionals in the sector so that the measures caused by the drought have as little impact as possible on the economy of Cádiz, because, after all, tourism is a guarantee of employment and profitability in our province.”
The president of the junta in Andalusia said in January the region would need at least 30 days of rainfall to prevent the enforcement of stringent restrictions this summer.
But weather experts don’t foresee rain falling until at least mid-March in the Costa del Sol area.
Some areas of the Canary Islands are also in the grip of a drought, with Tenerife planning to declare a water emergency.
The president of the local government, Rosa Dávila, said it has been one of the “driest winters in recent history” for the island.
