Government to hold emergency drought meeting

As the drought situation we have been monitoring since last year shows no signs of easing, the Government will hold an emergency meeting on Thursday to plan for worsening situation.

April was the “driest in the historical series”, according to data from the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet). The water reserve has fallen to 48.9% nationally, a decline that has been continuing for weeks, as is at around a quarter of capacity in some areas.

The Government has already announced that work outdoors will be prohibited when the heat is very intense, especially where Aemet has activated an orange (important) or red (extreme) warning for the risk of high temperatures.

The Government finalises a large aid package for farmers who cannot irrigate due to water shortages and thus suffer serious economic damage.

The Executive has not yet detailed the plans that will be announced on Thursday, although they are advanced as very important, greater than those raised so far, but it does list what it has done so far in a note from La Moncloa. “This government is on the side of farmers and ranchers and is fighting the consequences of the climate emergency, as shown by the battery of aid and investments adopted,” the text explains. The battery began with 450 million euro in aid on March 15, 2022, “to which are added some 650 million euro in extraordinary direct aid already paid to the livestock and citrus sectors and to alleviate the cost of fertilisers.” In addition, social contributions for companies and the self-employed have been deferred, and the number of workers necessary to receive the agricultural subsidy has been reduced. A large tax cut was also carried out.

The Executive assures that since 2018, when Pedro Sánchez became president, it has increased “investment in water by almost 70% to 541 million”, and that “the approved hydrological plans foresee investments of 22,844 million euro and more than 6,500 measures”, with European funds of 3,1 billion euro until 2026 dedicated to water. It also details 1,6 billion investment for purification, sanitation, reuse, efficiency, digitisation, restoration of ecosystems and security and 2,1 billion for irrigation modernisation.

Despite the fact that the convening of the extraordinary Council of Ministers, a few hours before the start of the electoral campaign, has taken some government partners by surprise, they have said that the ministry will propose a package of measures to the autonomous communities on Friday to protect citizens from the effects of heat waves.

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