“No rain for two years”: Northern Greece faces severe water crisis due to ongoing drought
Due to the ongoing drought, which was exacerbated by several heatwaves this summer, Northern Greece is facing a severe water crisis.
ADVERTISINGNorthern Greece is suffering from a significant water crisis due to persistent drought, which has been exacerbated by several heatwaves this summer.
As in other areas, rainfall has been below average for up to three years, and drought areas have expanded across the region’s map.
The consequences in Greece include water shortages, dried-up lakes and even the death of wild horses.
Until recently, Lake Picrolimni in northern Greece was a popular destination for mud baths, but this summer it is nothing but cracked earth and so dry that it can support the weight of a car.
“It hasn’t rained at all for two years, so the lake has dried up completely. It used to have a lot of water. People came to swim,” says community leader Costas Partsis.
He says the clay has a healing effect on many ailments, but no one came this year.
The nearby Lake Doirani, which lies on Greece’s northern border with North Macedonia, has receded by 300 metres.
Local authorities are demanding that public works be carried out to restore the river’s water supply.
They join the call of experts who argue that major changes in water management are needed to mitigate the harmful effects of climate change.
Water for olive groves delivered by truck
Konstantinos S. Voudouris, professor of hydrogeology at the University of Thessaloniki, says too much water is lost due to outdated water networks.
He says infrastructure improvements should focus on collecting and storing rainwater during the rainy season and reusing treated wastewater in agriculture.
Farmers in northern Greece are also facing difficulties.
Just six weeks before the harvest, there is no water left in the soil, says olive farmer Dimitris Papadakis, so he has to bring it in from other areas by truck.
“Our boreholes have almost dried up. We now have to rely on tankers to irrigate our fields,” says Papadakis, who runs an agricultural cooperative in a village on the Chalkidiki peninsula.
The water crisis was exacerbated by the booming tourism season.
ADVERTISINGIn Kassandra, the westernmost finger of the peninsula, the population increases from 17,000 (year-round) to 650,000 in summer, resulting in unbearable pressure on water reserves.
