This summer, drought hit hard, to the least hot regions like Normandy or Brittany. The trees lose their leaves, crops suffer and drinking water is rare: 78 departments impose restrictions, twice as much as a year.
In the middle of summer, dead leaves litter the streets. The trees lose their leaves, not because of the cold, but too intense heat and the lack of water. Dryness is raging everywhere, especially in crops that look gray, but also on taps, even in the least hot departments like Normandy or Brittany.
Water consumption must be closely monitored and limited. Currently 78 departments impose water restrictions. They were half as much a year ago. In some municipalities, crop irrigation is prohibited for several hours each week. Individuals cannot fill their pool.
A scenario that is retreating
With the rise in temperatures, these situations will worsen in the coming years, explains Eric Sauquet, director of research in hydrology at INRAE.
“We have flows that will collapse during the summer period. We will be around 30, minus 20% of flow compared to today. It means that the number of municipalities which will undergo supply difficulties or is in the interruption of water supply will certainly increase.
Water restrictions are introduced as a preventive basis to prevent the reserves from being dry. But every summer, the scenario is repeated in many municipalities. Driven of drinking water, they must supplied by tanker trucks, an emergency solution which often represents a financial chasm for these municipalities.
