Drought forces water restrictions across nearly 70 percent of France

A series of heatwaves over the past three months, compounded by drought, have broken temperature records, caused thousands of excess deaths, and fuelled massive wildfires. "As France is experiencing a particularly severe drought, the effects of climate change continue to increase pressure on water resources," the ministry for ecological transition said, adding that "nearly 70 percent of French territory is subject to restrictions on water use". As of August 9, the vast majority of mainland France, including Paris, was under at least the first water warning level, with 67 of the country's 101 departments under the highest crisis alert.In areas subject to the highest alert, water is reserved for priority uses such as healthcare, civil protection, drinking water and sanitation. Under lower alert levels, restrictions apply to activities such as watering gardens and green spaces, filling swimming pools, washing cars and irrigating crops. In a further sign of the worsening drought across much of heatwave-pummelled Europe, two thirds of the aquifers that provide most of France's drinking water have dropped below their normal levels, the country's Bureau of Geological and Mining Research (...