drought

Catalonia and Murcia were two of the areas most affected by the drought. Now they are in the center of the storm

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Of the 10 meteorological stations that Yesterday they collected more rainfall Five were in the province of Barcelona. At 11:00 today, the five stations that have collected more rainfall today are in the province of Murcia. A trough in summer. During the last days a trough has traveled the north of the country and the Mediterranean basin, but it has been this last area that has taken the worst part. This event has left large hail images and some overwhelmed channels in the center and north of the Mediterranean slope. The good news is that these areas where the rains now accumulate are some of the most punished by the drought that until a few months ago ravaged the peninsula. A drought whose effects still last in some of these areas. The most affected by drought. The Catalan and Safe internal basins were among the basins most affected by drought. In March last year, the Catalan basins stayed Below 15% of its capacity. After a slight rebound, at the beginning of this year their levels were Something above 30% of its capacity. Since then the Catalan basins have recovered and their reservoirs They are now to 77.6% of its capacity. Something that has not happened in the case of reservoirs in the Segura Basin. These reservoirs came to 19.2% of its capacity And, although they have recovered, they still remain in a modest 28.7%. The passage of a trough. The arrival of the last trough I could help To relieve the situation in areas such as the Safe Basin and to consolidate the stabilization of the basins of the north of the Mediterranean aspect, not only in Catalonia, also in the Júcar. For now the figures left by the trough are only provisional, although in the last Weekly balance of rainfall Made by the State Meteorology Agency (AEMET) stand out accumulations greater than 60 mm in Catalonia during the day after day, day 23. The data of the weather stations of the area indicate that yesterday’s was another rainy day. Change of trend? Meteorologists expect the situation to calm down today, but the longest tendency is not so clear. A few days ago it seemed that we were in a brief Impla before the return of heat. Now The models speak of a dough of cold air stagnated on Europe. Change of trend? Summer It is not usually A time of hydrological relief, so rain can become great news for those who look with concern the possibility of a new drought that puts the resistance of the water system again. This is especially true in the basins that have not had the opportunity to recover completely during the last months of hydrological bonanza. In Xataka | The next great drought is a matter of time. It is the one we have to solve the problem of sediments in reservoirs Image | SUPERCHILUM, CC by-SA 4.0

Drought is a real threat after an extremely warm, and also dry June

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The month of June has been the warmest since we have records, as confirmed by the State Meteorology Agency (Aemet). Perhaps more striking is the fact that, despite successive storms interspersed among the warm episodes, the first summer month of 2025 has been drier than average. Warm and dry. Aemet has published Your meteorological summary of the month of June. In this confirm something that we already sensed: last month it was extremely warm, with an average thermal anomaly of 3.6º Celsius above what would be common at this time. It has also been drier than usual, with 68% of the rainfall that would be expected from the sixth month of the year. 23.7º. According to the published summary, the average temperature during the month of June was 23.7º in the Peninsula, which implies the aforementioned anomaly. June 2025 has become the hottest in the historical series for a wide difference: 0.9º above the previous record, marked in 2017. The Balearic Islands also saw a month “extremely warm”, with an average 3.1º above the average. The Canary Islands however remained in a somewhat less extreme record: with an anomaly of 0.7º, its June was listed as “very warm.” Returning to the Peninsula, in some areas of the northeast thermal anomaly in this month exceeds 4.5º. Lack of water. The Meteorological Summary Results With regard to heat they are expected, but there is another important detail and is referring to rainfall. Last month it was also drier than usual in peninsular Spain, with average rainfall of 21.7 mm, more than 30% below the average June. This can be striking if we take into account the various stormy episodes seen throughout the month. These storms were interspersed, serving as relief among the successive warm episodes that occurred during the month. Balearic Islands, with hardly any water. But the most extreme case was not that of peninsular Spain but the one lived in the Balearic Islands. In the Mediterranean archipelago, rainfall fell about 99% compared to the average. During the past month the archipelago received only 0.1 mm of rain. Without reaching such an extreme, the Canary Islands also experienced a dry month: 0.7 mm, 27% of what would be conventional in June. In the peninsula some isolated areas saw rainfall higher than average, especially in the northern plateau and in the Ebro valley. Change in the trend? Between the past fall and the last spring, the high rainfall managed to get a good part of the country out of the drought situation in which it was. Swamps and reservoirs before under minimums saw their volume of water significantly grow. Great news that was welcomed with a certain degree of skepticism after more than a year of drought. June is not the first month dry than usual we see in the last year, but the less a reminder that the hydrological bonanza era will not be eternal and that we must prepare for when the drought prevails again. In Xataka | “Clouds of fire”, the phenomenon that makes escape from sixth generation fires can make it impossible Image | Aemet

His sediments unprotected us in front of the next drought

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Thanks to the data provided by the authorities and on initiatives such as reservoirs.netwe have at our disposal complete information of the state of the hundreds of reservoirs that populate our environment. However, for some time the experts have noticed us with a problem that make this data in principle precise and observational into something more similar to estimates. It is the problem of sediments. Decades of accumulation. The reservoirs, in addition to accumulating water accumulate sediments. This involves a problem since they occupy a growing proportion of the volume of Spanish swamps, with the aggravating fact that it is very difficult to estimate the exact proportion in each case. Fortunately, the echoes of drought have abandoned us (for now), but during the last months of water bonanza, some swamps even had to release water after their filling. Part of that water could have been used if their place had not occupied these sediments. It is for all this that the sediments have come to be called The “silent thief” of the reservoirs. Difficult solution. This accumulation is due to dynamics associated with the very nature of these great reserves and the architectural barriers that create them. That is why impossible to prevent this accumulation from being more or lesser extent, so we only have two options left: living with sediments or performing periodic dredging operations to clean up these sediments occasionally. Living with sediments. Coexistence with sediments is not synonymous with ignoring the problem. Quite the contrary, it requires more accurately to document the magnitude of this phenomenon. The speed at which sediments accumulate in the reservoirs in the form of sludge, sand and other materials depends great Considering all these variables is complicated, so observational studies are also an option. The study of the lacuestre bed through batimeters would allow us to know the status of the bottom of the reservoir without having to empty it or resort to indirect estimates. Knowing the degree of accumulation of sediments in reservoirs can help us adjust your real capacity and to know more accurately what are the real water resources we have and what is the rhythm to which we spend them. Of course, this solution does not solve the problem of loss of reservoirs capacity, but at least allows us to work with it. Studies. We do not have a general idea of ​​the state of the sediments in our reservoirs but we do have a record of some studies and estimates carried out over the last years. The problem today is that the number of studies is limited and its diverse results. We have an example in the study conducted in 2018 by the Tajo Hydrographic Confederation, which estimated An insignificant accumulation of sediments. At the other extreme, a batimetry study conducted by the Segura Hydrographic Confederation indicated a loss of capacity in the basin of Between 10% and 40%. A third study offers us a somewhat more global vision. Made through 110 reservoir analysis, this third work estimated a loss of capacity of our reservoirs of about 5%an intermediate result between the aforementioned. Dranging the reservoirs. The solution to the problem I could be in the dredging of the reservoirs. This option would allow them to recover their original capacity but at the same time raised a challenge due to the number of swamps existing to the country. A challenge and considerable investment. These types of operations are not, however, a mere utopia. In 2024 the Ebro swamp began some dredging operations To release one of the disaggers of the dam, useless as a result of the accumulation of sediments. The budget of the work: 2.5 million euros. In Xataka | The time of truth of the Spanish reservoirs: how are they going to endure the heat after rains that has left them overflowing Image | Pilar Flores

Spain has received more rain than ever this spring. And yet it is unable to get rid of the ghost of the drought

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Europe is not having a good time right now. Many weeks of warmer temperatures and rainfall in historical minimums, they are helping drought tentacles expand A wide strip that goes from the British islands to Crimea and the Anatolia. This is made clear by Copernicus’s latest report, the European land observation system. And yet, none of that has affected Spain. On the contrary, we have had months of unusual rains and whole weeks of temperatures below the average. The problem? In spite of everything, the vast majority of points in “alert” by drought They are on the peninsula. A ghost that comes to stay. If drought is a ghost (as we usually say, a little impossible, journalists), the southeast of the country is a delighted house. An Indian cemetery. With the exception of the coast of Malaga and Granada and the Catalan basins, the long Spanish Mediterranean arch is full of red dots (alert) and oranges (of concern for drought). But also of blue areas, of course. According to the report ‘Droough in EuropeApril 2025, the Tagus, Guadiana and Andalusian Mediterranean basins are the only ones in the entire continent that have had a positive rain anomaly. And there are the problem and the paradox. After all, this spring has become a perfect example to understand the problems that the country is going through: the problems to manage the hydrological reserves of the system in an integral way. Some problems that create distrust at all levels. Because, a few weeks ago, it was announced that the government changed the Tajo-Segura transfer game rules; But no special emphasis has been placed on the dirty war between both basins. In fact, no one is happy: while the Tagus Chair “See the proposal insufficient“Of the government, the Murcian irrigators They prepare mobilizations. All this while the Hydrological Confederation of the Safe It is immersed in controversies on manipulated data and lack of control. In what situation does all this leave us? As we commented a few weeks ago“After the rains of March and with the reservoirs of Half Spain to overflow” another battle began, who stays that water. It will not be an easy battle because, how has it been happening for 30 yearsIn the end we lose all. Image | Copernicus In Xataka | After the rains of March and with the reservoirs of Media Spain to overflow, another battle begins: who stays that water

Aemet’s big question is if 2025 will definitely end the drought

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Today, the great meteorological issue of Spain has names and surnames: the May bridge. Will it heat? Will it be cold? Will it rain? Will it sunbathe? The good news is that we have the models working. The bad is that this time they do not serve much. As Aemet explainsin recent days the chances of raining during the first days of May have been exactly the same as the chances of the sun shine and it is hot. The same. But that’s not the worst. A matter of time. And, although it is difficult for us to accept uncertainty is something that usually happens. “This is the atmosphere”, Roberto Granda says With all reason. In the background: it is inconvenient, but it is a matter of time. In fact, predictions begin to leave the balance to the rain side. And in a few days, we will have a much clearer scenario. Trends, on the other hand, paint another month for water. Although as the month ends, the forecasts are lightening the amount of rainfall, the European center Paint a good part of the Peninsula With more rains than normal throughout the month. If right, we will chain three months of relatively anomalous rains. Above all, if we compare them with the springs of recent years. What implications does all this have? Has drought dead? If the great weather question is May, the weather is drought. Because, Despite black pointsthe truth is that water reserves They are already 75.56%. That is, more than 10% above the historical average of the last decade. If 2024 laid the drought, 2025 is determined to end her. After all, we came from years where spring was very dry, very warm, very stable and that turned increasingly long summers into a counterreloj race against it “zero day“: The day we simply run out of water. The rains of these months change the stage completely. The authorities are already levacing all measures against drought And they prepare Transvase equivalent to double the annual consumption of an entire autonomous community. The problem is that, in much of the country, it has been the longest drought period of modern history. The country’s wounds go beyond water in swamps. Not surprisingly, in recent years, deforestation has done only devour southern Spain. The end of the drought (of a long period that began in 2013) is excellent news; But above all, it is a very precious time to rethink in front of the existential threat of climate change. That is the third big question: if we will do it. Image | ECMWF In Xataka | Current water, luxury: two thirds of the earth are already running out of reservations

While reservoirs from all over the country reach record figures, Spain still has a black dot of the drought: Almería

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For eighth consecutive week, Spanish reservoirs have risen again. It was to be expected: the same rains that have “bitter” vacations to many during Holy Week are now becoming good water news. For the first time in many years, Spain has exceeded the 75% barrier in reservoir water. And yet, this enthusiasm does not reach a very specific area of ​​the country: The Southeast. Where the rains do not arrive. If we see an autonomous map of the country’s water reserves, we will see all of Spain in blue (light, medium or dark). All except Murcia; That, at 36.49% of its capacity, it can only appear in colors close to orange or red. And, although Reservations have grown a lotthe safe basin is still very touched with 10 points less than the historical average. For more Inri, it cannot be said that it is a management problem (although the management of the basin has always been a controversial issue). It is something that extends, as I say, to all southeast. The province of Alicante is at 31.75%. That is to say, above the terrible data last yearbut without reaching the average of the last decade. And then there is Almeria. Almería? What happens in Almeria? That hides among the excellent data from Andalusia (60.59%) and the more than good of the Andalusian Mediterranean basins (55.54%), The province of Almería has a huge problem: its reserves are 11.16%. Slightly better than a year ago, but still below Lbetter 2024 data. Almería’s problem with water is not new. That’s true. If we look, the historical average of the last 10 years in The province is 13.13%. Very slightly above the current figures. And we talk about a place with a huge weight of water intensive industries (agriculture and tourism); one that, in addition, is suffering like nobody Desertification problems and overexploitation (and pollution) of aquifers. As They said a few weeks ago from Ecologists in Action“Seeing Llover away the ghost of drought”, but in areas like Almeria that drought has been anywhere. It is a false impression that only management can difficulty. Lose the water war. At least there are three Almeria regions in which drought not only persists, but It is completely chronified: Níjar, Sierra de los Fizodes and El Levante. And that we talk about the Spanish province that adds the greatest number of rafts of different sizes and characteristics (27,000according to the latest estimates). In 1987, “the first reports on the deterioration of the aquifers of the Dalías field were announced, the point where intensive agriculture was born.” And the problem has only increased: “Every year, Almería starts its agricultural campaign with a structural deficit of around 200 cubic hectometers.” The story is simple, too simple. Almería wanted to become the great laboratory against desertification, but has become a battle territory. A battle that little by little We are losing. Image | Alicia Camacho In Xataka | Arid soils are devouring Almeria, Murcia and Alicante faster than we expected. And it does not seem that we can stop it

The megabattery that aspires to alleviate the drought of the island in full controversy

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90% of the territory of Gran Canaria will present a high or very high risk of desertification, with increasingly frequent calimas and droughts, According to the Foresta Foundation. In response to this situation, 14 years ago, the Electricity of Spain, with the support of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, initiated the construction of a project that will supply water and electricity, although not without controversy. The initiative. El Salto de Chira It is a hydroelectric plant of reversible pumping in southwest Gran Canaria, which will use the dams of Chira and Soria. The project consists of a renewable energy storage megabattery and also wants to ensure water supply in the area. The plant, which is still being built (40%), has a budget of 391 million euros. In addition, it has the support of the European Investment Bank and the Government of Spain. It will be ready in 2027. The central will become a 200 MW megabattery with storage capacity of up to 18 hours, According to eldiario.es. In addition, the project includes a desalination company that will supply water to the system and allow pumping between dams, taking advantage of the excess renewable energy in low demand hours and improving the insular electrical system. A very long management. More than a decade to claim that everything works correctly due to the technical complexity of building a reversible hydroelectric plant, as has happened in Galicia, and this is in turn linked to a desalination company, so planning and execution advance at a slower pace. On the other hand, permits and authorizations have been a long process due to environmental impact studies and public consultations. In addition, the logistics difficulty derived from the steep terrain of the island is added. However, a neighborhood group by Barranquillo Andrés and Soria Guapil has declared In the country that 90% of the neighbors support the work for the positive impact on local agriculture and livestock. Also, the Bentorey association has recognized in the same medium the discomfort, instead they positively value the project for its impact on the water supply. There is a rejection. In face B of the matter, various environmental organizations and technical voices have expressed their rejection. The Ecologist Turcón collective They have considered That the central is energetically inefficient, when requiring the desalination and pumping of water from the sea to high areas, which implies a high energy expenditure and a considerable environmental impact. In addition, they have criticized that it is promoted as a clean energy initiative when, in their opinion, it is rather a storage infrastructure that depends on a privatized energy model and controlled by large corporations such as Naturgy or Iberdrola. Other controversies in the islands. Although El Hierro Island can be set as an example of the future of energy self -sufficiency through renewable energies, a couple of months ago jumped to the press that depended on diesel to meet its energy demand. Therefore, it is important that they continue to carry out energy storage projects if you want to achieve a system of renewable with intermittent energies. Forecasts According to the province, the works They are underway with four kilometers of the planned tunnels already executed and the desalination and the completed electricity line. It is expected that, throughout 2025, water discharges will begin in the reservoirs of Chira and Soria, marking a milestone in the execution of the project. Image | Unspash Xataka | A cave in Galicia will be a new energy warehouse: a 1,800 MW macroproject without the need for new reservoirs

What to do now that it can lift the drought restrictions

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The magical figure is this: 365 hm3 of water. That is, the reservoirs of the Ter and Llobregat basins They have exceeded 60% of their reservations And that means that the conditions that allow the alert by drought are met. While all looks are placed on April 8 (when the Intergovernmental Commission that can lift it), Barcelona prepares for one of the key decisions of the coming years: “How do we leave the water alarm without hypothetering our future?” The most prolonged drought in modern history. At least in Catalonia. In fact, despite the rains of recent weeks, drought scars They continue to affect to large areas of the community. The best example is the hazelnuts of the Camp de Tarragona who are dying from the salinity of the wells and the lack of treatment plants. … but it is reaching the end. The Ter reservoirs They accumulate 202 HM3 (50%) and those of Llobregat, 162 hm3 (76%). In both basins The limits to lift have been exceeded the alarm (180 in the first and 100 in the second). In addition, the flows have been recovered and, although one more drop of water falls throughout the year, the water supply for all 2025 has already been guaranteed. It seems a matter of time for the basins to return to normal. Prudence. That is the word that most It is repeated In the Government And it sounds good, but we have enough experience to know that prudence is not enough when we talk about water management. For more than 30 years, prudence has always had a small print. As explained in Datadista“From the deep drought of the 1990s, each dry period has served to implement emergency measures or allow practices that were not eliminated when the rains returned, (but) were used to expand irrigation, increasing the problem of overexploitation and contamination of aquifers and the wetlands to which they feed.” The most important decision for the future. A future that, despite months like this, It seems quite clear: There will be areas of the country where the distribution of rains will change radically throughout the year and others in which rainfall will fall. Even though The predictions of recent days are met And April is also a more humid month than normal, drought will arrive. For now, infrastructure They will move on and management changes to win additional “31 HM3” too. The doubt is what these hectometers are going to dedicate themselves. And Catalonia must decide whether to be more prepared or, once again, will leave the problem to the following. Image | Copernicus In Xataka | In the middle of one of the most extreme droughts that are remembered, Catalonia has had an idea: to cut trees

While Andalusia and Extremadura fight against floods, the water system prepares for the next drought

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The rains of the last days They have put end to the pertinaz drought that still affected some Spanish basins. However, water so longed for in some areas has also flooded some areas of the country, especially in the south and west of the peninsula. Flooded areas. Numerous areas of the country have dawned under the threat of floods. The rainfall associated with Borrasca Laurence has made Cut roads and evict homes Faced with the risk of floods In Andalusia and Estremadura. Part of Murcia is now under orange warning decreed by the State Meteorology Agency (Aemet). It rains a lot. A determining factor in which we have reached this situation has been the persistence of these rains. Not only has it rained much, The three successive fronts that Laurence has brought the peninsula have put pressure on the water systems of the southwest, forcing water at various points. As if this were not enough, on the Atlantic Horizon A new storm appears: Martinho. This new storm is expected to reach the Peninsula tomorrow Wednesday. Not just rain. The risk of floods has also been exacerbated by spring thaw. In this sense, Aemet has also issued Several notices yellow by thaw in areas of the central system. To what extent the situation is “normal”. We are in spring, rainfall is not something anomalous on these dates, but Aemet’s forecasts For the remainder of the month of March they are clear: the next few days are also expected wetter than usual in much of the country (except for the Cantabrian mountain range and the island communities), and especially in the southwest quadrant. End of drought? We were therefore before the end of an important drought that affected practically the entire country between 2023 and 2024. A drought that still kept some basins such as the Catalans or those of the south, despite the intense rain episodes seen in the second half of 2024. Now, we see that the reservoirs have been maintained almost constantly with filling levels above average of the last 10 years during what we have been in 2025, and this month of rainfall seems aimed at accentuating this increase (compensating A drier February than usual). Everything seems to indicate that the drought situation has been reversed. The problem is now to prepare for the next. A paradox. This leads us to a paradoxical situation and is duty Plan a drought While we disembark water to avoid risks derived from the intense rainfall we are seeing these days (and that we will continue to see during the coming ones). On the one hand, because the increase in oceanic and atmospheric temperatures facilitate the accumulation of water in the atmosphere. More loaded clouds involve an increase in the risk of intense rainfall and with it the risk of flooding. On the other hand, the drought that we live seems to be more than one of the consequences of A aridification process which affects many areas of Spain. This process implies a trend that will make the most recurring droughts. In Xataka | With the reservoirs to be overflowed with the rains of March, there is a reason for hope on the horizon: the light of the light Image | ECMWF

Drought and mass tourism have aggravated the shortage of water in the Balearic Islands. Now it is going to entrust the desaliners

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Throughout the month of March Let’s have a storm characterized by many rains. However, when this temporary pass will come the good weather and return The drought again. Given this situation, the Balearic Islands, one of the communities most affected by water scarcityThey are looking to get ahead. The projects. The seafore and water cycle. has announced The construction of three desalination plants in Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza. The installation will have an initial budget of 3.5 million euros and are expected to be operational within five years, supplying more than 60,000 inhabitants. A serious problem. Currently, reservoirs on the islands are 51% of its capacity, showing the water problem despite the recent rains. For that reason, from the Ministry They have pointed out That these new desalination makers are to guarantee the medium and long term water supply, regardless of the weather conditions. However, this is not all, because there are other concerns, such as overexploitation of aquifers that It has generated problems With the introduction of salts. In addition, the archipelago receives a large amount of tourism every summer, which triggers demand and Test The supply capacity. Future desalination. The Balearic Government has planned the construction of desalists financed through the STI 24-25 call, with the aim of improving the water supply in the region. In Mallorca, the Rostent area will be prioritized, especially the strip between Ses Salines and Artà, as well as the municipalities of the PLA. In Menorca and Ibiza, areas with the highest water deficit will be served. The project will take place in several phases with the construction in 2027 and the commissioning of the facilities in 2030. But they already have others … that’s how, in the Balearic Islands There are desalination plants They help meet the growing demand for water. Currently, ABAQUA manages a supply and desalination infrastructure network that includes several plants, such as Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza. To give an example, the three existing desalination plants in Ibiza operate at 75 % of their capacity throughout the year, and They reach 110 % peaks In more than five months, which shows the overload of the supply system. Inconveniences. Although desalination plants have become an alternative for water use, they have a series of problem. On the one hand, they need high energy consumption, so would imply an increase in the price of water In the long term. On the other hand, these facilities They can have brinea residue with high salt concentration that can damage marine ecosystems. So the Balearic Islands will have to continue trusting technologies such as desalination plants, which despite the aforementioned problems, offer a response to the growing demand for water. However, they can bet on the implementation of long -term measures such as Wastewater reuse or Other methods within desalination. Image | Pexels Xataka | Barcelona is about to live something unpublished for 50 months and that until recently we thought it impossible: the end of drought

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