Roxani Kamperou has introduced a new summer routine in her holiday home on the Cycladic island of Sifnos. When she arrives, she grabs metal tools, lifts the lid of her cistern and checks the water level. “I think we’ll be fine this weekend,” she reassures her guests.

Due to water shortages, Sifnos declared a state of emergency in June, along with 14 other Greek municipalities. Some areas of the island had no water supply for several days, while other areas had strict water rationing, which only provided water at certain times. Some municipalities rented desalination plants to meet summer demand and also relied on expensive tankers.

In a year that was the hottest on record worldwide due to climate change and natural phenomena, Greece experienced its warmest winter, followed by one of its hottest summers.

In June and July, Athens experienced the hottest months since weather records began. Temperatures were consistently above 40 °C during the day and 30 °C at night. The amount of precipitation was also significantly lower than the historical average.

The problem of water scarcity goes beyond Greece, as Europe is the fastest warming continent in modern human history.

Thousands of residents of the Sicilian city of Agrigento took to the streets earlier this month with “We want water” signs to protest after suffering months of water shortages and demanding better access to water.

In March, water rationing was introduced in Sicily, affecting 93 municipalities and 850,000 people. A warship was deployed to deliver water to drought-hit coastal towns and €20 million was allocated to repair leaky infrastructure. Authorities also plan to spend €90 million to restart three old desalination plants.

Although recent severe storms brought rain to some areas of the island, it was erratic and not enough to resolve the long-term crisis.

“What we have been warning about for years – the danger of desertification – is now becoming a reality,” says Chrysi Laspidou, professor of civil engineering at the University of Thessaly. “But we as scientists are surprised by the speed with which these changes are taking place.”

As in many other parts of the Mediterranean, record numbers of tourists and a construction boom to accommodate seasonal visitors have increased pressure on supplies in Greece.

Sifnos, part of the western Cyclades, one of Greece’s driest regions, has a permanent population of about 2,600 people, but visitor numbers rose to over 135,000 in 2023 – almost double the number a decade ago. The influx has put a strain on limited infrastructure, but a lack of planning controls has also been blamed.

“Overtourism in itself is not the problem,” says Harry Sachinis, managing director of Eydap, the Athens water and sewage company. “An island has a very high demand for water and sewage for three months and minimal demand for the rest of the year. What do you build, how do you build it, at what cost and who will pay for it?”

The islands’ natural water scarcity was ignored when large plots of land were built to house villas with pools, gardens and multiple bathrooms. Traditional architecture was modest and included small gardens with local flora that did not require irrigation. Most of the residents’ needs were met by rainwater collected in their own cisterns, and wells were dug for drinking water.

Pavlos Lazos, a local photographer from Sifnos, published a book last year about the water shortage on the island. He remembers running around with his grandfather to fill bottles with water from wells and taking timed showers. “Today, a lot has changed, but not the need for efficient water management,” he said.

In the absence of a central plan, mayors of some small Cycladic islands act alone. Sifnos Mayor Maria Nadali described her concerns when she monitored the island’s water tanks and consumption in real time in June. “When we looked at water consumption in June, we realized that if we continued at this pace, we would not have enough by October.”

The declaration of the state of emergency has raised awareness among visitors and residents and laid a foundation for rationing, she said. Tourists typically use two to three times more water per capita than locals because they have to wash sheets and towels, shower and fill pools more frequently. “We had to make sure everyone was aware of the water shortage,” Nadali said.

As a sign of the times, many Greek islands are seeing an increasing number of desalination plants being used. On the Aegean islands alone, there are now 57 desalination plants in operation, twice as many as ten years ago. Islands like Syros are completely dependent on them, while others, like Sifnos, are heavily dependent on them.

However, desalination also brings other problems, including high energy consumption and environmental concerns related to waste disposal. Although the islands have great potential for solar and wind energy, most plants still run on fossil fuels.

“We have the sea and lots of water, but to make it drinkable requires enormous energy,” says Laspidou, a professor of civil engineering. “If the energy comes from fossil fuels, it creates huge emissions (which contribute to global warming).”

“Desalination also creates significant amounts of salt water, which is harmful to marine ecosystems,” she added. “I would only recommend desalination as a last resort.”

The cost of desalinated water, including energy and distribution, often exceeds the price charged to consumers, resulting in a deficit for the municipality of between 40 and 70 percent. This financial gap forces the Greek Association of Municipal Water and Wastewater Utilities to subsidize the service, creating a vicious cycle of larger deficits and further hampering infrastructure development.

The chronic lack of centralised water management planning meant that maintenance and investments were carried out haphazardly, with each municipality doing what it thought was best.

The Greek regulator is preparing its first analytical map of water resources this year to manage and plan for future needs, including cataloguing desalination plants, drilling sites and the necessary staffing.

“We need to decide on our strategy,” said Dimitris Psihogios, deputy chairman of the Energy, Waste and Water Regulatory Authority. “Do we want more desalination plants or do we need to consolidate plants on the islands? These are political decisions that need to be made.”

As tourist numbers in Southern Europe continue to increase, governments face an urgent need to develop a water management strategy to protect valuable resources and support their economies.

Recently, Nadali lifted the state of emergency for Sifnos. The water level was less dangerous because the warnings were heeded. “The situation is under control at the moment and we hope it stays that way, but we are constantly suffering.”

Additional reporting by Amy Kazmin in Rome

Graphics by Samira Chowdhury and Ian Bott