there Spain live there The worst drought in 70 years. lack of rain and Record temperatures in April – Last week, almost the whole country was swinging between 30 and 40 degrees – They are draining water basins, in some cases already below 25% of their capacity, and threaten the water supply of the population.
A quarter of the country is on alert and weather forecasts don’t give much hope: Until mid-May it will not rain over much of the Iberian Peninsula and also in the following months precipitation is likely to be scarce and sporadic. So much so that the authorities Catalonia, where it hasn’t rained for 32 months They announced that the Barcelona region, with a population of more than six million, could enter a “state of emergency” by September, if the predictions are confirmed.
The agricultural sector has been hit hard, especially in the southern regions. And the drought is immediately turning into a political issue, with administrative and regional elections on May 28 and general elections in December. The attacks by the regional president of the Popular Party and the Council of Andalusia against the socialist prime minister were particularly violent Pedro Sanchez. Last Sunday, Juanma Moreno warned of a “severe water problem”, stressing that “without water there is no agriculture, there is no education. Without water there are no jobs in many regions and municipalities of Andalusia »and« Without water many inland cities will die ». Therefore, “Take the problem seriously,” Sanchez urged.
For his part, the Prime Minister and party leader admitted last week in Parliament that “drought will be one of the issues that will focus on the political and regional debate in our country in the coming years.”
Regional tensions are particularly evident in Andalusiaa region that has always been a fiefdom of the Socialist Workers Party, especially during the years of Andalusian rule Felipe Gonzalez (1982-1996), but gave in last year’s elections an absolute majority to the People’s Party and where there is also a strong presence of the far-right Vox party.
At great risk, in particular, is the cultivation of rice – 60% is grown in the province of Seville – but also the cultivation of tomatoes and fruits. Even the “toro bravo,” or the fighting bull emblem of Spain, is in danger of extinction due to drought. “At this rate, we are going to disappear,” denounce the large “ganadira” farmers. Costs have been compounded by the increase in food and energy prices due to the war in Ukraine and water shortages, according to the head of the Asociación de Ganaderías de Lidia. “It is terrible, the animals have already eaten what little grass there is in the field and we are forced to buy fodder and fodder to feed the livestock.”María Jesus Galda told EFE.
Why does it not rain in Spain? The reason is the recession of a ridge of anticyclones in the Iberian Peninsula which leads to diverting storms. The situation will not change in the short termAccording to the weather forecast from the state meteorological agency Aemet: in the next few days, only the northern provinces will receive the long-awaited, but still “scarce” rains.
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