MANUEL AUSLOOS, of Reuters, reports from south-west France and ELENA RODRIGUEZ, NACHO DOCE, HORACI GARCIA and JOAN FAUS from Spain…
Paris, France
Reuters
Set at foot of the Pyrenees mountains, Lake Montbel is famous in south-west France for its turquoise waters, massive size and thriving aquatic life.
But as spring nears, the postcard landscape has largely turned into a muddy wasteland, with the boats of the local sailing club left stranded on its banks, as France’s driest winter in 64 years kept the lake from filling up.
General view of the partially dry Lake Montbel is seen at the foot of the Pyrenees Mountains as France faces records winter dry spell raising fears of another summer of droughts and water restrictions, on 13th March, 2023. PICTURE: Reuters/Sarah Meyssonnier
CHURCH TOWER REEMERGES FROM PARCHED RESERVOIR IN DROUGHT-HIT SPAIN
Spain is in the grip of a long-term drought after 36 months of below-average rainfall, with some parts so parched that officials have asked people to cut water use and meteorologists warn of worse to come.
Some reservoirs in Catalonia, which surrounds Barcelona, are so low that old constructions like bridges and a church bell tower have resurfaced, people are flying kites on lake beds and navigation apps show someone in the middle of the water when they are standing on dry land.
Tourists walk while fishermen collect fish from the Sau reservoir next to a church of the village of San Roman de Sau after its re-emerging as Sau reservoir has lowest level since 1990 due to extreme drought in Catalonia, near Vic, Spain, on 15th March, 2023. PICTURE: Reuters/Nacho Doce
The weather will be drier and hotter than usual this spring along the north-eastern Mediterranean coast that includes Catalonia. The dry weather will heighten the risk of wildfires even as it brings average rainfall nationwide, Spain’s meteorological agency AEMET said.
“This is an area that we could describe as no-man’s land because it is not getting affected by the storms coming from the Atlantic and the Mediterranean,” AEMET spokesperson Ruben del Campo told Reuters, referring to Spain’s north-east.
He pointed to climate change as one of the leading factors.
“Heat waves in this geographical area of the planet are more frequent, are increasing more frequently than in other regions,” he said.
Spain’s drought nationwide measured over 12 months is no worse than it was in 2017, 2012 and 2005. But the average water level in Catalonia’s reservoirs stands at just 27 per cent, slightly above the level in parts of the southern region of Andalucia.
After 25 months without significant rain, Catalonia earlier this month asked most of its seven million residents to cut water use by eight per cent at home, 15 per cent in industry and 40 per cent in agriculture.
In the Sau reservoir, 100 kilometres north of Barcelona, which is only 10 per cent full, boats were catching tons of fish that would struggle to survive in the low-oxygen water in order to protect drinking water.
Invasive species will be euthanised while native ones will be released in nearby waters. Access has been restricted over concerns that people will get trapped in the mud.
– ELENA RODRIGUEZ, NACHO DOCE, HORACI GARCIA and JOAN FAUS, Madrid and Barcelona, Spain/Reuters
France, like most of Europe, is in the grip of a winter drought that is prompting growing concerns over water security across the continent.
For the month of February, the Ariege region, where Lake Montbel is located, has suffered from a rainfall shortage of 80 per cent.
“We are only currently at…about 25 per cent of the maximum filling rate. At this time of year, we are usually closer to a 60 per cent filling rate,” said Xavier Rouja, who manages the lake’s dam.
Lake Montbel is an artificial lake, which extends over 570 hectares and was created in 1985 by flooding what used to be a forested area.
The lake, roughly half-way between Toulouse and Perpignan, was initially created to irrigate the region’s crops, but over time camp sites and hiking trails have sprouted around its banks, drawing thousands of tourists each year.
As he walks the lake’s dried-up bed, sailing instructor Claude Carriere checks on sailing boats stranded a few metres from the water.
His club has had to cancel several competitions since January, as the lake’s shrunken surface is no longer suited for sailing.
“We have a magnificent body of water when it’s full. It’s fabulous. It is a haven of peace, a place of leisure and relaxation,” Carriere, who has been volunteering at the club since the early 2000s, told Reuters.
“When you see it like that, it’s sad. It looks more like a muddy desert than anything. And that breaks our hearts in a way.”
The club’s management is already looking to diversify its activities to keep operating through future droughts.
Downstream, farmers are worried ahead of spring and summer.
“Lake Montbel, in fact, is the guarantee of income…If tomorrow, we have to do without water, many, many of our farms will collapse and disappear,” said head of the regional farmers’ irrigation association, Christophe Mascarenc.
Mascarenc uses water from the nearby Ariege river and not from Montbel Lake. He nevertheless plans to cut corn production by 50% to 60% this year to save water.
Others in the region have turned to less water-intensive crops, such as sorghum, sunflower and even mandarins.
Authorities are also working on a plan to divert the nearby Touyre river to help fill up the lake, though the project has met opposition from environmental groups.
A view shows a part of the partially dry Lake Montbel at the foot of the Pyrenees Mountains as France faces records winter dry spell raising fears of another summer of droughts and water restrictions, on 13th March, 2023. PICTURE: Reuters/Sarah Meyssonnier
As the effects of global warming are set to intensify in coming decades, warmer and drier seasons will become more common, the head of the public Upstream Garonne River Interdepartmental Delegation, Franck Solacroup, said.
“The Montbel dam is representative of this [water] deficit situation and this level of filling, which is far from optimal at the start of the season,” he said.
“In 2022, we really had conditions which will be the norm in 2050, due to climate change…This is something we will have to get used to and therefore adapt to.”
– With NOEMIE OLIVE
