France: Over 100 towns left without drinking water amid 'historic drought'

The Prime Minister of France, Elisabeth Borne, recently said that the nation is experiencing its "most severe drought" on record as over 100 municipalities lack access to drinking water. In light of the fact that France is currently witnessing its third heatwave this summer, Borne stated on Friday that several regions are dealing with a "historic situation." Furthermore, a crisis team has been established by the French government to address the record drought that has left communities without access to drinking water, BBC reported. 

In a statement, Prime Minister Borne said, “The exceptional drought we are currently experiencing is depriving many municipalities of water and is a tragedy for our farmers, our ecosystems and biodiversity", itv reported. The statement emphasised that weather predictions also indicate that the heat, which raises evaporation and water consumption, might persist for the next 15 days, potentially making the situation much more serious. 

In addition to this, as per the CBC report, the government's crisis team will be in charge of keeping an eye on the situation in the areas that have been impacted the worst and coordinating actions like providing potable water to select locations. According to Minister for Ecological Transition Christophe Béchu, trucks are transporting water to certain communities since "there is nothing left in the pipes."  

Drought in France

Furthermore, the driest month for France since March 1961 was July, which received just 9.7mm of rain, according to the national meteorological office Meteo-France.  

Béchu stated that over 100 communities can no longer offer drinking water at the tap and have to rely on truck deliveries, itv reported. He noted, “The worse the situation is, the more we make drinking water the priority compared to other usages”. 

Due to high river temperatures that prevent adequate cooling, the state-owned energy firm EDF was forced to temporarily reduce power output at two of its nuclear sites that utilise river water to cool reactors. The French energy company issued a warning that at least one additional plant would be impacted in the upcoming days as a result of the Rhone river's high temperatures, as per the itv report.  

It is pertinent to note that more than any other nation, France, which forbids irrigation in most of its north and south, depends on nuclear energy for over 70% of its power. 

Macron visits fire impacted places

Meanwhile, in July, French President Emmanuel Macron paid a visit to the southwest area of Gironde, which has been most damaged by the fires and spoke with firemen who battled the blazes for a week. As per a report by The Associated Press, since they started on July 12, two enormous fires consuming tinder-dry pine woods have also compelled tens of thousands of people to leave their homes. Using powerful gear to remove trees and roots and leave wide, bare strips, French firemen built enormous firebreaks in vulnerable woods in order to put out the flames.