Spain's drought: a glimpse of our future?

[Andy Hunt]

In contrast, here in normally wet and rainy Lancashire it's been dry for weeks.

It must be at least a month since we had any proper rain. Two weeks ago, having emptied my water butt in the space of a week, I decided to shell out for an additional water butt.

Both water butts are still sitting there completely empty, because it just hasn't rained. For the first time today I have watered my garden completely from tap water.

If it's dry, I tend to try watering only the absolute bare minimum, to encourage roots to go deeper to find water. But there are limits, and I don't want to lose everything that's growing.

[skeptik]

The Valencia area though (which is where you are Skeptik, aren't you?) has had between 25 and 50% more rainfall in April than the 10 year average (darkish blue area on the map).

On a clear day I can see Ibiza from the lighthouse

I guess Spain is going to have to invest more heavily in dams and reservoirs and storage tanks of all sorts in the future.

Yup. And pipelines. The situation isn't as bad as in the middle east, though. There are similarities to the UK - plenty of water up in the North West, not enough down South and in the East

[RenewableCandy]

In contrast, here in normally wet and rainy Lancashire it's been dry for weeks.

It must be at least a month since we had any proper rain. Two weeks ago, having emptied my water butt in the space of a week, I decided to shell out for an additional water butt.

Both water butts are still sitting there completely empty, because it just hasn't rained. For the first time today I have watered my garden completely from tap water.

Other side of Pennines. Exactly same story . Til now we hadn't used tapwater in the garden since 2003.

[Erik]

Still raining here

But just had a hail storm which has put several holes in the big leaves on my squash plants. Left them looking like swiss cheese

[OrraLoon]

Still raining here

But just had a hail storm which has put several holes in the big leaves on my squash plants. Left them looking like swiss cheese

http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/wo ... 4163535.jp

Another article on Spain. Lettuce prey.

[Erik]

http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/wo ... 4163535.jp

Another article on Spain. Lettuce prey.

"The model of Murcia is completely unsustainable," Gil said. "We consume two and a half times more water than the system can recover. So where do you get it? Import it from elsewhere? Dry up the aquifer? With climate change we're heading into a cul-de-sac. All the water we're using to water lettuce and golf courses will be needed just to drink."

Facing a national crisis, Spain has become something of an unwitting laboratory, sponsoring a European conference on water issues this summer and announcing a national action plan this year to fight desertification. That plan includes a shift to more efficient methods of irrigation, as well as an extensive programme of desalinisation plants to provide the fresh water that nature does not.

It's stuff like this that makes me want to see the full force of peak oil hit sooner rather than later, just so that mass tourism in Spain will become a thing of the past and at least some of the demand for water will be destroyed before the aquifers dry up completely. Of course without tourism Spain's economy will collapse too... it's all looking a bit nasty either way.

Still, national officials visibly bridle when asked about the "Africanisation" of Spain's climate ? a term now common among scientists.

"We are in much better shape than Africa, but within the EU our situation is serious," said Antonio Serrano Rodr?guez, the secretary general for land and biodiversity at Spain's Environment Ministry.

Well, that's very comforting, we'll always be in better shape than Africa