Greek Islands Grapple with Water Shortages Amid Heatwave. Water levels are critically low across Attica, including Athens. Naxos in the South Aegean endure a severe shortage as its main reservoir has dried up, compounded by insufficient rainfall and extreme heat.
https://www.argophilia.com/news/greek-islands-grapple-with-water-shortages-amid-heatwave/235401/
by Wagamaga
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Following Greece’s earliest heatwave in June, several Greek islands face a dire water shortage crisis. Sifnos, Leros, Sami, and parts of Crete have declared states of emergency as water supplies dwindle. Islanders are urgently calling for government intervention.
Water levels are critically low across Attica, including Athens. Naxos in the South Aegean endure a severe shortage as its main reservoir has dried up, compounded by insufficient rainfall and extreme heat.
Sparse rainfall combined with temperatures soaring up to 40°C have intensified the water crisis. Poor infrastructure and neglected desalination units aggravate the situation. Wildfires exacerbate the issue, as seen in Serifos, where a fire severely damaged the island’s water supply network.
Quite a few Mediterranean countries that rely heavily on mass tourism are in for a major shock and crisis!
Adaptive capacity is expensive to build but this is why it’s needed.
Greece has not done a good job managing tourism’s impact on their water resources.
Years ago I was on Santorini and Patmos and asked locals where their water came from since their islands were brown and parched.
A man on Santorini told me that they ran out of water decades ago due to increased tourism and all their water had to be shipped in. A woman on Patmos echoed this, saying they no longer have enough rainfall to support their agriculture and that they too had to have water brought in.
But both islands, especially Santorini, continue to allow thousands of tourists to land daily and strain water resources for locals. All the islands looked like tinderboxes and were overrun by tourists.
The Greeks always complained about their government and I could see why. Such short-sightedness with mismanaged tourism.