Drought: the departments that will run out of water this summer

The prefect of the Pyrénées-Orientales, Rodrigue Furcy, tells us that the quantities of water that will be available this summer on French territory will be very low, which is why he talks about putting in place certain measures and “difficult decisions” will be taken.

Indeed, this Tuesday, April 25, Rodrigue Furcy explained to the French that the summer drought will be very strong in 2023 and present in several departments of France. He even speaks of “exceptional drought in the Pyrénées-Orientales”. Indeed, following a meeting with the presidents of the Departmental Council and the Chamber of Agriculture, and several mayors, the Prefect warns us that “there will be no not enough water for all uses (…) The quantities available are very low”.

While this month of April 2023 is “the month of April is the driest since 1959” and “the situation is extremely tense” according to the Prefect, tomorrow, Thursday April 27, a meeting of the drought committee will be held, where participants will have to make difficult decisions, including deciding whether to extend or modify the water restriction decree, around twenty municipalities are affected by the possibility of low resources “by the end of the summer” .

But do not panic, “emergency solutions” will be put in place to help these municipalities with the help of the State and the Regional Health Agency.

Apart from the Pyrénées-Orientales, and the departments on yellow alert (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Alpes-Maritimes, Ardèche, Drôme, Gard, Haute-Saône, Hérault, Isère, Var, Vaucluse, Vienne) other departments are even more impacted by drought.

Find out if yours is one of them in our slideshow.