DRYING UP

The recent rainfall has had little effect given the long-term lack of water in the country’s reservoirs

THE official start to the summer was marked by nearly 40% of the country being declared in drought.

That’s according to the latest report from the Ecological Transition Ministry.

The data shows that 33% of Spain is in a ‘prolonged drought’, with a particularly dry year so far in Catalunya and most of Andalucia.

The lack of rainfall in recent months has left the country’s reservoirs at 47.4% capacity, compared to the average of 66.7% over the past 10 years according to the data. However, there has been more rainfall than usual so far in the month of June, which has helped to stop the fall in water reserves. But this precipitation has not been enough to allevi-

Green wine

SPANISH winemaker Entrecanales Domecq e Hijos has been named the leading food and drink company in Spain at The Sustainability Awards. They won the garland by becoming one of the first to achieve Carbon Neutral certification and utilise only renewable energy across their many sites around Spain.

The jury also praised the company’s new Sustainability Plan, which outlines 100 actions to be implemented between 2023 and 2027, covering areas such as environmental initiatives, social practices, and corporate governance.

By Simon Hunter

ate the situation in many of the water basins across the country.

Last year was also very dry, meaning that the reservoirs have been at minimum levels for many months and at levels that have not been seen since a major drought that took place in Spain in the mid-1990s.

Despite the arrival of summer, however, there could still be some storms to come in the north of the country. But in the long term, according to the AEMET state weather service, temperatures are likely to be above average for the next three months. The water shortage has already affected wildlife, with the numbers of breeding flamingos in Andalucia’s Fuente de Piedra lake down to just a handful from its usual 10,000 as the water dries up (above).