Barcelona will impose water use restrictions such as banning swimming pools from being filled due to a drought affecting large parts of Spain, local officials said Tuesday.

The city and its surrounding area will as of Friday be put under a "drought alert", joining other parts of the northeastern region of Catalonia.

"Months of little rain has forced us to take new decisions in order to minimise the consequences of this drought," Patricia Plaja, the spokeswoman for the regional government of Catalonia, told reporters.

The alert imposes restrictions on water use for farmers, factories and livestock breeders, and bans using water to fill swimming pools.

There will be no water rationing for domestic use.

It is the first time since 2008 that a "drought alert" has been issued for Barcelona, Spain's second largest city.

About 80 percent of Catalonia's population of 7.7 million people will live in areas under a drought alert once it comes into effect on Friday.

"Catalonia will face longer and more intense periods of drought," Plaja said.

October 2022 was the hottest month of October in Spain since records started in 1961, according to national weather agency AEMET.

The unusually warm October follows a summer in Spain and much of Europe marked by repeated heatwaves which fuelled wildfires and worsened drought conditions.

This has been the fourth driest year in Spain since records started being kept.

Between January and October the country received an average of 355 litres of rainfall per square metre -- 26 percent less than the normal level, according to the weather agency.

Reservoirs in Spain were at 32.5 percent of their total capacity.

Related Links
Water News - Science, Technology and Politics

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Israel and Jordan agree to clean up polluted Jordan River
Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt (AFP) Nov 17, 2022
Israel and Jordan agreed Thursday at a UN climate meeting in Egypt to clean up the polluted Jordan river, an essential waterway suffering under decades of pollution and drought. The Memorandum of Understanding inked at the COP27 stresses the need to rehabilitate the river system which, experts say, has lost roughly half of its biodiversity. Israel's environmental protection minister, Tamar Zandberg, called the pact "an expression of the close relationship... between the two countries". "Cl ... read more