The drought is spreading in France with 98 departments affected by surveillance that may be subject to restrictions on the use of water, the government site VigiEau indicated on Monday July 13, a record since at least 2013. This record occurs in the third episode of extreme heat in less than two months.
In detail, 42 departments are in a “crisis” situation, 27 departments on “heightened alert”, 16 departments on “alert”, all of which may be subject to restrictions by prefectural decrees. Thirteen others are on “vigilance”, including Paris, and are not affected at this stage by restrictions.
The alerts do not automatically concern the entire department affected by the surveillance, and sometimes even only concern a few areas within the department, like Morbihan and the Pyrénées-Orientales. Overseas, Guadeloupe and Martinique are on “alert”, while Reunion is on “heightened alert”.
Meeting of “water resources” committees
Faced with the increase in the number of departments affected by drought, the government indicated on Monday that it was “strengthening” the national drought management system. “An interministerial instruction (…) provides in particular for the meeting of “water resources” committees in each department, a rapid issuance of restriction orders as soon as the thresholds are crossed, reinforced controls and weekly monitoring of the situation at the scale of the hydrographic basins,” wrote the Ministry of Ecological Transition in a press release on Monday.
“Depending on the level of seriousness of the local situation, these decrees may provide for restrictions on agricultural irrigation, the filling of private swimming pools, the washing of vehicles, the watering of gardens or even certain industrial uses,” he specifies.
According to the ministry, 201 prefectural decrees are currently in force. Nouvelle-Aquitaine is the most affected region, with 11 out of 12 departments placed in crisis.
