More drought fears in Alicante as the skies remain dry
Weather models predict very little rain in Alicante province this May
With the exception of a few isolated storms at the beginning of the month, Alicante province has received very little rain since the winter, and the ever-present drought is worsening.
The seasonal forecasts presented by the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet), which are based on detailed information from Europe and the US, indicate that the entire month of May will be much warmer and drier than usual.
According to professor of Regional Geographic Analysis at the University of Alicante, Jorge Olcina, the experts “are not optimistic” that the drought conditions, which have been very noticeable since the beginning of the hydrological year on October 1, will improve at all in the run-up to summer.
“We are facing a very intense Mediterranean drought,” Mr Olcina said, with a clear cause: the absence of easterly storms, atmospheric situations that usually drag humidity from the Mediterranean Sea to the coast.
“Since last October 1, we have not had any storms in the east that allowed the accumulation of significant amounts of water.”
In fact, while Spain has soaked up a fair amount of rain thanks to multiple Atlantic fronts, most of these storms dry up before ever reaching the Mediterranean coast.
With these devastating predictions, the city of Alicante has already warned that the drought emergency plan could be escalated, which would result in measures like bans on filling swimming pools.
Meanwhile, the authorities in the Marina Baixa area of the province, which includes Benidorm, are worried that a full-blown drought emergency will need to be called by the beginning of July if it doesn’t rain.
The good news is that a supply of drinking water has been guaranteed throughout Alicante until the autumn at least, but the researcher emphasised that “prudent use of water” is still vital in the coming months, “which are those with the greatest water expenditure for irrigation and tourism.”
Find all the latest weather and climate change news here or join our Alicante Weather Watch Facebook group for regular updates
Image: Freepik
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