I've been living in Andalusia for 5 years now and this summer of 2026 has been brutal. The reservoirs are extremely low, cities are restricting water, and I don't understand if it's just climate change or if there's something more going on. Does anyone actually know what's happening?
Don't think it's something new or that it suddenly started this year, because it's been a problem for years now that keeps getting worse. Climate change is the main cause, but what's speeding everything up is that there's less and less rainfall in winter and spring, and when it does rain it's way more irregular and torrential! The reservoirs fill up less and empty faster because of higher temperatures, and on top of that water demand is still brutally high between agriculture, cities, and tourism. Basically it's a perfect storm: less rain, more heat, and the same (or more) consumers fighting over available water.
How much water do you normally use at home without really thinking about it? What you see in the wetlands is real and serious, but here in the south the issue gets more complicated because on top of climate change and less rainfall, you've got water demand that grew a ton with intensive agriculture and tourism, especially in summer. The aquifers are emptying faster than they're refilling, so it's not just that it rains less - it's that we're taking out more than what comes in. Some years it rains a bit better and people breathe easier, but the overall trend for the last 15 or 20 years is downward, and that's what's scaring you now.
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