It's hot and we're running out of water

03 July 2025

Over one hundred weather stations recorded temperatures above 40ºC last Saturday in Spain, where this historic heatwave is poised to make last month the hottest June on record. In some parts of the country, it hit as high as 46ºC.

Fleeing the scorching heat during the day, hundreds flocked to parks to find refuge under tree shades, often waving good old reliable fans: a staple of Spanish summer. At night, tropical temperatures make it almost impossible to sleep. Even the north, traditionally a haven for those escaping high temperatures, saw some of the biggest anomalies of this extreme heat episode.

Portugal also recorded a temperature of 46.6°C in Mora, and seven out of its 18 regions are under red warnings for "extreme risk". In Italy, 21 of 27 major cities were on red alert and hospital admissions in regions like Tuscany rose by 20%. Greece is battling wildfires again.

In France, nearly the entire mainland is under orange heat alerts, which the ecology minister, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, called "unprecedented". At least 200 schools were closed and businesses were advised to adapt their working hours. Wildfires have broken out in the southwest.

Further up north, in the Netherlands, people also rush to the shops to buy fans and search for swimming spots to cool down during these hot days, although a classic Dutch summer usually includes no more than two extremely hot days before a thunderstorm follows.

But once the heat fades, a slower and more serious crisis begins to unfold: water shortages. Spain is one of the hardest-hit countries, and other countries are beginning to see their water reserves decline, too. Water companies are already warning that access to drinking water may no longer be guaranteed in the future.

Groundwater currently supplies two-thirds of Europe's drinking water, but due to ongoing droughts we are using more of these reserves. The lack of rainfall means they are no longer being replenished. At the current pace of climate change, by 2050, up to 65 million people in the EU and the UK could face water scarcity – that's 1 in 8 people.

Agriculture will also be hit hard. Farmers may no longer be able to irrigate their crops or feed their livestock, a disruption that will affect food supplies, already noticeable in Spain through reduced crop yields.

Inefficient and outdated water infrastructure adds to the problem. As Europe sees both long dry spells and sudden extreme rainfall, smarter and more resilient systems are urgently needed. The EU has acknowledged the threat and introduced a European Water Resilience Strategy, aiming for a 10% improvement in water-use efficiency by 2030. But don't get your hopes up too high: these targets are not legally binding, so it's still up to individual member states to make sure the taps keep running.