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Most people associate the word ‘drought’ with summer heatwaves, temporary hosepipe bans and August water restrictions, but the reality is that Spain has been experiencing a drought situation to varying degrees for years now. And while most warm, dry countries adapt somewhat to these weather extremes, the experts fear that the consequences of climate change will greatly exacerbate the situation.

 

2022 was a dire year in terms of rainfall, and only 5.36 litres of water per square metre was collected in the country’s reservoirs – that’s 16% below normal and represents the sixth driest calendar year since 1961. And despite the abundant rain in December, meteorologically speaking, all of the Spanish storage facilities are in drought bar the Júcar and Segura basins.

 

On the basis of these numbers, Spain’s State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) has issued the stark warning this week that a “long-term drought” may be just around the corner.

 

Although the north of Spain has been experiencing a deluge in recent weeks, in 2022 overall rainfall didn’t even reach 75% of its normal volume. Similar dry spells were experienced in part of Castilla-La Mancha, Catalonia, Mallorca and eastern Andalucia.

 

Given the lack of rainfall, Spain technically ended last year in a state of drought.

 

"It is even possible to speak, also at the end of 2022, of an incipient long-term drought, since the accumulated rainfall data as a whole in the three previous years have been scarce enough to begin to speak of an incipient long-term drought," explained Aemet’s Rubén del Campo

 

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