Wednesday, June 15, 2005

Spanish drought

The drought in Spain has worsened to the extent that seven regional governments have been forced to ration water so far. The figure is expected to increase over the next few weeks.

Yesterday the Spanish Environment Minister, Cristina Narbona, confirmed that this year is proving to be the driest for the past sixty years, and that the drought situation is now considered to be very severe indeed.

Narbona also warned that experts expect this year to be the start of a drought cycle which could last for several years. Most Spanish reservoirs are already below 50 percent capacity and river levels have fallen by over 40 percent in the last twelve months.

The drought has been further exacerbated by the fact that underground water supplies in Spain have become polluted or, in coastal areas, salted.

Seven regional governments have already started rationing the watering of crops, whereas Narbona said that the efforts of central government would center around the depuration of water supplies.

Related:
Climatic change in Spain
Consequences of climate change in Southern Spain

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