Before summer comes Europe running out of water.

A large reservoir, which is the main source of water for millions of Catalans, has been emptied. The failure to provide water to many villages caused social opposition and conflicts in France. In Italy, the level of the largest river fell to the level of June last year. Over a quarter of the Old Continent faced conditions drought already in April, and many countries are preparing for a difficult summer, just like last year.

A recent study using satellite data confirmed that Europe has been suffering from severe drought since 2018.. Increasingly higher temperatures are causing a dangerous vicious cycle unreliability water.

“A few years ago I would say that we have enough water in Europe. Now it looks like we are facing a water shortage problem,” said Thorster Meyer-Gier, head of satellite data research.

Experts warn that even a rainy spring has failed to balance the situation. And with summer just around the corner, governments are scrambling to find a solution not only to existing difficulties, but to future deficits.

winter drought

Last year’s drought, which hit the surface of Europe and the water table, was of historic proportions. The expectation that winter, with its rains and snows, would somewhat mitigate this phenomenon was bitterly rejected.

Spain experiences heat waves and drought in the spring, especially in Catalonia, in the northeast, which facing the worst drought in decades.

The drought, as Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez noted last week, “will be one of the central political and territorial issues of confrontation in the country in the coming years.

In the absence of rainfall, the reservoirs that collect rainwater for use during the dry months in the region are only a quarter full. Some farmers were forced not to cultivate the land, in many areas water was supplied by aqueducts, and in at least one case farmers were forced to postpone planting indefinitely.

France experienced its driest winter in 60 years, with at least 30 consecutive 24-hour periods without a single drop of rain in January and February.

In Italy, the CIMA research institute recorded a 64% reduction in snowfall by mid-April. The water level in the Po River is as low as it was last summer. At the same time, the water level in Lake Garda is below half of its average level.