Spanish reservoirs have experienced a notable increase in their reserves in one week thanks to the rains associated with the train of storms that has been sweeping peninsular Spain for the last fifteen days. These rainfalls have raised the level of the swamps by 1,306 cubic hectometres, an important figure considering that it is equivalent to the annual consumption of a population of 20 million people.
As a whole, the reservoirs are at almost 38% (37.9%) of their capacity, an increase of 2.3 percentage points compared to seven days ago. It was precisely last Tuesday when the downward trend that had been happening since mid-June was finally broken. Seven days ago the level rose 1.1% (580 hm3). Now it is more than double that amount. The negative part is that the contributions have not been uniform and the storms, which entered through the Gulf of Cádiz and Galicia, have not left as much rainfall on the Mediterranean coast as in the interior of the peninsula.
The current situation is much better than the reservoirs were just a year ago. At this same time in 2022, they were at 32% of their capacity, six points less than today. It is true that compared to the average of the last ten years (48%), the reality is worse (ten points less), but it has already been corrected for two consecutive weeks. However, there still needs to be a lot of rain to end the meteorological drought that the country is suffering from and which has led to restrictions in municipalities in Andalusia and Catalonia, where the swamps in their main basins (the Gudalquivir and Internal Catalonia) do not reach 20% of its capacity.
Those 1,306 extra cubic hectometers (about one and a half billion liters) represent the largest contribution of water that our reserves have received since no less than January 23 of this year. On that occasion, the reservoirs grew by 1,343 cubic hectometers (37 hm3 more than now) and placed the level at almost 51% of their capacity.
The swamps of all the autonomous communities, except two, have improved their levels. Only those in the Valencian Community (0.36% less) and those in the Region of Murcia (0.68%) have fallen somewhat. It is also true that Andalusians, where water is needed most, have barely experienced an increase of 0.2 percentage points. It’s something. At least they don’t lose. The jackpot has been won by the Asturian reservoirs (11% more), the Galician ones (10%), the Navarrese ones (7%) and the Aragonese ones (4.5% more).
“Excellent” news
For the climatologist and professor of Regional Geographic Analysis at the University of Alicante, Jorge Olcina, the contribution in one week of those 1,300 cubic hectometers is “excellent news”, which follows the path of what happened seven days ago when the trend was reversed. of continuous loss. “We are beginning to gain resources,” says Olcina, who believes that the drought situation cannot be considered closed because “it needs to continue raining in Andalusia and Catalonia, and a little more rain in the Júcar and Segura basins.” «, a Mediterranean coastal area that has not benefited as much from rainfall as the Tagus, Duero or Ebro basins.
This Thursday, the Ciarán storm will bring strong gusts of wind, widespread rain and the first significant snowfall in the mountains
Olcina remembers that each week of the months of July and August “we lose between seven hundred and one thousand cubic hectometers” so “it would take a couple of months like October” to compensate for that deficit. And initially new rains are expected this week. Because the storm Ciarán is arriving, which starting on Wednesday and especially on Thursday, will bring a storm of strong gusts of wind, widespread rain and bad seas, as well as the first significant snowfalls in the mountains from 900 to 1,000 meters, especially in the north. The Aemet spokesperson, Rubén del Campo, has warned that Thursday will be “the most adverse day of the storm” due to this storm coming from the United Kingdom.
According to the Agency, the storm will undergo a process of explosive cyclogenesis, which means that “it will become very deep in a short time”, with very strong winds, sea storms and abundant rainfall. In fact, Aemet has announced yellow or orange warnings in all autonomous communities (except the Canary Islands) for Thursday, which will be red (extreme risk) on the Galician coast due to waves of up to nine meters.
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