Europe Drought One City Calls Water Blue Gold In One Of Its Worst Droughts On Record

Messeli’s reservoirs were emptied for the first time since last winter was remarkably dry. She then had to rely on tap water to grow the organic fruit and vegetables that make up the baskets she sells to neighbors and local markets. Then, in May, local authorities turned off the taps as well. France is experiencing what authorities say is possibly the worst drought on record. It’s a similar picture across much of Europe – more than 60% of land in the European Union is under drought warnings or more severe alerts, according to the European Drought Monitor. The rain has been so little that large rivers are drying up in places. The Loire and Rhone in France, the Po in Italy and the Rhine in Germany all have particularly low water levels, some of which have even shrunk, affecting transport, agriculture and energy production. Now torrential rains are affecting several areas of the country. In the Loire region of central France, they have caused flooding. The soil is so parched, like a dry sponge, that it simply cannot absorb as much rain. In Paris, the floods that hit on Tuesday night forced the closure of 10 metro stations. Stormy weather brought relief from the heat, but little to break the drought. What is needed is less intense and more consistent rain over much longer periods of time. In January, when concerns about the dry winter surfaced, Seillans officials offered to sell Messelis’ trucked-in emergency water reserves at €20 ($20.40) per cubic meter (about 264 gallons), he said. Private suppliers offered only slightly cheaper prices. Normally, he would pay just about 50 cents ($0.51) for the same amount from the faucet. It was an impossible choice for her. “It’s not worth starting,” the 54-year-old farmer told CNN. “It’s almost like we’re only working to pay for the water.” Unlike previous generations, Messeli’s neighbors today are more likely to have a swimming pool than a vegetable plot, a somewhat harsh irony for her this summer: During the first period of water restrictions, residents were still allowed to fill up their pools, while the crops withered. “It was a moment of shock,” he said. “It’s so obvious that the priority [should be] to eat.”

Black clouds

In May, Seillans residents were put on water vouchers, with 150 liters a day per person at the worst point in the community. It wasn’t long before the rest of the Seillans were also given daily limits, albeit higher than 200 litres. It should be enough to cover basic needs — the average French consumes 149 liters daily. However, without control, it is easy to use hundreds of liters more. Just turning on a tap while brushing your teeth or between washing the dishes wastes six liters of water every minute. Seyenne was one of the first communes in France to run out of sufficient water for residents this year, but as of early August, about 100 communes were in the same position, according to French Ecological Transition Minister Christophe Béchu. Many areas of the Var region have seen about 80% less rain than the long-term average between early July and August 10, according to the drought mission for the regional land and sea directorate. Some areas have seen no measurable rain at all. The region is now “in crisis,” mission chief Julien Asante told CNN. Droughts in the Mediterranean region where Seillans is located have increased in frequency already due to the anthropogenic climate crisis, and the heat waves that can exacerbate them are also more common and more intense, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The more the Earth warms, the more the region will experience droughts, droughts and fire weather. And the drought doesn’t just affect farmers and households. With it came intense fires. More than 780,000 hectares (over 3,000 square miles) across Europe have burned so far this year, according to the European Forest Fire Information System. So exhausted are France’s firefighting resources that colleagues from Romania, Italy, Poland and Austria, as well as aircraft from Greece and Sweden, have been called in to tackle the flames.

New rituals

In the Ricou household, the drought has sparked a new ritual. Every few days, Brigitte Ricou climbs into the back of her bush to photograph her water meter. It’s the best way to keep track of how much she, her husband, and her visiting grandson are using. “We look at our meter a lot,” she told CNN from her kitchen in Lower Seian, where there is a daily limit of 200 liters per inhabitant. He said it was difficult to estimate how much water each person used each day and it was something that required practice and thought.
She and her husband have implemented a number of measures to limit water use, from washing food in bowls to using the same water for their plants. They use bottled water for drinking, take shorter showers and don’t flush the toilet after each use. “Sometimes I drastically reduce my consumption to get my 200 litres,” he said, adding that he does not see the quota as a right, as some do, but as a ceiling. “This water is precious.” For Seillans mayor René Ugo, water is more like a “sacred” resource. A small stream that ran through the town year-round was once the lifeblood of many businesses below Seian, from a perfume shop to an oil mill, he said. But as it dried up, so did business. This year, it hasn’t flowed at all. “It was a warning,” Ugo said, referring to his observations of dry conditions in January. “I was afraid of what might happen and those fears came true.” And in Seillans, the containment measures go far beyond containment – the town is now trucking in fresh water. The local town hall oversaw the purchase of a water tanker, which now makes eight consecutive return trips to replenish water tanks in the worst-hit areas. Filling from a fire hydrant fed from an underground spring—water filtered naturally from the rock—the truck deposits 8,000 liters at a time. While the mayor acknowledges it’s a short-term fix, it’s also an investment for the future. There are no plans to sell the truck at the end of the dry season, he says, in a tacit admission that the village could face such shortages again. It’s also a cost local residents will have to shoulder, with higher water bills, the mayor said, another sore point as the crisis bites the cost of living. For local policeman Philippe Grenêche, extreme drought has become the new normal, even part of his rhythm. He and his colleague now patrol the village looking for evidence of water-related offences: For example, green lawns are a sure sign of sprinkler use, which is prohibited. Pools that appear to have been refilled are another sign of violations. Sometimes people are even caught stealing water from fire hydrants. “We had black gold,” Grenêche told CNN, referring to the value of oil, as his patrol car drove through the hills of Seillans. “And now with all that, we have ‘blue gold’.” Reporter Amandine Hess contributed to this report.

title: “Europe Drought One City Calls Water Blue Gold In One Of Its Worst Droughts On Record Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-06” author: “Doris Michael”

Messeli’s reservoirs were emptied for the first time since last winter was remarkably dry. She then had to rely on tap water to grow the organic fruit and vegetables that make up the baskets she sells to neighbors and local markets. Then, in May, local authorities turned off the taps as well. France is experiencing what authorities say is possibly the worst drought on record. It’s a similar picture across much of Europe – more than 60% of land in the European Union is under drought warnings or more severe alerts, according to the European Drought Monitor. The rain has been so little that large rivers are drying up in places. The Loire and Rhone in France, the Po in Italy and the Rhine in Germany all have particularly low water levels, some of which have even shrunk, affecting transport, agriculture and energy production. Now torrential rains are affecting several areas of the country. In the Loire region of central France, they have caused flooding. The soil is so parched, like a dry sponge, that it simply cannot absorb as much rain. In Paris, the floods that hit on Tuesday night forced the closure of 10 metro stations. Stormy weather brought relief from the heat, but little to break the drought. What is needed is less intense and more consistent rain over much longer periods of time. In January, when concerns about the dry winter surfaced, Seillans officials offered to sell Messelis’ trucked-in emergency water reserves at €20 ($20.40) per cubic meter (about 264 gallons), he said. Private suppliers offered only slightly cheaper prices. Normally, he would pay just about 50 cents ($0.51) for the same amount from the faucet. It was an impossible choice for her. “It’s not worth starting,” the 54-year-old farmer told CNN. “It’s almost like we’re only working to pay for the water.” Unlike previous generations, Messeli’s neighbors today are more likely to have a swimming pool than a vegetable plot, a somewhat harsh irony for her this summer: During the first period of water restrictions, residents were still allowed to fill up their pools, while the crops withered. “It was a moment of shock,” he said. “It’s so obvious that the priority [should be] to eat.”

Black clouds

In May, Seillans residents were put on water vouchers, with 150 liters a day per person at the worst point in the community. It wasn’t long before the rest of the Seillans were also given daily limits, albeit higher than 200 litres. It should be enough to cover basic needs — the average French consumes 149 liters daily. However, without control, it is easy to use hundreds of liters more. Just turning on a tap while brushing your teeth or between washing the dishes wastes six liters of water every minute. Seyenne was one of the first communes in France to run out of sufficient water for residents this year, but as of early August, about 100 communes were in the same position, according to French Ecological Transition Minister Christophe Béchu. Many areas of the Var region have seen about 80% less rain than the long-term average between early July and August 10, according to the drought mission for the regional land and sea directorate. Some areas have seen no measurable rain at all. The region is now “in crisis,” mission chief Julien Asante told CNN. Droughts in the Mediterranean region where Seillans is located have increased in frequency already due to the anthropogenic climate crisis, and the heat waves that can exacerbate them are also more common and more intense, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The more the Earth warms, the more the region will experience droughts, droughts and fire weather. And the drought doesn’t just affect farmers and households. With it came intense fires. More than 780,000 hectares (over 3,000 square miles) across Europe have burned so far this year, according to the European Forest Fire Information System. So exhausted are France’s firefighting resources that colleagues from Romania, Italy, Poland and Austria, as well as aircraft from Greece and Sweden, have been called in to tackle the flames.

New rituals

In the Ricou household, the drought has sparked a new ritual. Every few days, Brigitte Ricou climbs into the back of her bush to photograph her water meter. It’s the best way to keep track of how much she, her husband, and her visiting grandson are using. “We look at our meter a lot,” she told CNN from her kitchen in Lower Seian, where there is a daily limit of 200 liters per inhabitant. He said it was difficult to estimate how much water each person used each day and it was something that required practice and thought.
She and her husband have implemented a number of measures to limit water use, from washing food in bowls to using the same water for their plants. They use bottled water for drinking, take shorter showers and don’t flush the toilet after each use. “Sometimes I drastically reduce my consumption to get my 200 litres,” he said, adding that he does not see the quota as a right, as some do, but as a ceiling. “This water is precious.” For Seillans mayor René Ugo, water is more like a “sacred” resource. A small stream that ran through the town year-round was once the lifeblood of many businesses below Seian, from a perfume shop to an oil mill, he said. But as it dried up, so did business. This year, it hasn’t flowed at all. “It was a warning,” Ugo said, referring to his observations of dry conditions in January. “I was afraid of what might happen and those fears came true.” And in Seillans, the containment measures go far beyond containment – the town is now trucking in fresh water. The local town hall oversaw the purchase of a water tanker, which now makes eight consecutive return trips to replenish water tanks in the worst-hit areas. Filling from a fire hydrant fed from an underground spring—water filtered naturally from the rock—the truck deposits 8,000 liters at a time. While the mayor acknowledges it’s a short-term fix, it’s also an investment for the future. There are no plans to sell the truck at the end of the dry season, he says, in a tacit admission that the village could face such shortages again. It’s also a cost local residents will have to shoulder, with higher water bills, the mayor said, another sore point as the crisis bites the cost of living. For local policeman Philippe Grenêche, extreme drought has become the new normal, even part of his rhythm. He and his colleague now patrol the village looking for evidence of water-related offences: For example, green lawns are a sure sign of sprinkler use, which is prohibited. Pools that appear to have been refilled are another sign of violations. Sometimes people are even caught stealing water from fire hydrants. “We had black gold,” Grenêche told CNN, referring to the value of oil, as his patrol car drove through the hills of Seillans. “And now with all that, we have ‘blue gold’.” Reporter Amandine Hess contributed to this report.

title: “Europe Drought One City Calls Water Blue Gold In One Of Its Worst Droughts On Record Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-13” author: “James Carbone”

Messeli’s reservoirs were emptied for the first time since last winter was remarkably dry. She then had to rely on tap water to grow the organic fruit and vegetables that make up the baskets she sells to neighbors and local markets. Then, in May, local authorities turned off the taps as well. France is experiencing what authorities say is possibly the worst drought on record. It’s a similar picture across much of Europe – more than 60% of land in the European Union is under drought warnings or more severe alerts, according to the European Drought Monitor. The rain has been so little that large rivers are drying up in places. The Loire and Rhone in France, the Po in Italy and the Rhine in Germany all have particularly low water levels, some of which have even shrunk, affecting transport, agriculture and energy production. Now torrential rains are affecting several areas of the country. In the Loire region of central France, they have caused flooding. The soil is so parched, like a dry sponge, that it simply cannot absorb as much rain. In Paris, the floods that hit on Tuesday night forced the closure of 10 metro stations. Stormy weather brought relief from the heat, but little to break the drought. What is needed is less intense and more consistent rain over much longer periods of time. In January, when concerns about the dry winter surfaced, Seillans officials offered to sell Messelis’ trucked-in emergency water reserves at €20 ($20.40) per cubic meter (about 264 gallons), he said. Private suppliers offered only slightly cheaper prices. Normally, he would pay just about 50 cents ($0.51) for the same amount from the faucet. It was an impossible choice for her. “It’s not worth starting,” the 54-year-old farmer told CNN. “It’s almost like we’re only working to pay for the water.” Unlike previous generations, Messeli’s neighbors today are more likely to have a swimming pool than a vegetable plot, a somewhat harsh irony for her this summer: During the first period of water restrictions, residents were still allowed to fill up their pools, while the crops withered. “It was a moment of shock,” he said. “It’s so obvious that the priority [should be] to eat.”

Black clouds

In May, Seillans residents were put on water vouchers, with 150 liters a day per person at the worst point in the community. It wasn’t long before the rest of the Seillans were also given daily limits, albeit higher than 200 litres. It should be enough to cover basic needs — the average French consumes 149 liters daily. However, without control, it is easy to use hundreds of liters more. Just turning on a tap while brushing your teeth or between washing the dishes wastes six liters of water every minute. Seyenne was one of the first communes in France to run out of sufficient water for residents this year, but as of early August, about 100 communes were in the same position, according to French Ecological Transition Minister Christophe Béchu. Many areas of the Var region have seen about 80% less rain than the long-term average between early July and August 10, according to the drought mission for the regional land and sea directorate. Some areas have seen no measurable rain at all. The region is now “in crisis,” mission chief Julien Asante told CNN. Droughts in the Mediterranean region where Seillans is located have increased in frequency already due to the anthropogenic climate crisis, and the heat waves that can exacerbate them are also more common and more intense, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The more the Earth warms, the more the region will experience droughts, droughts and fire weather. And the drought doesn’t just affect farmers and households. With it came intense fires. More than 780,000 hectares (over 3,000 square miles) across Europe have burned so far this year, according to the European Forest Fire Information System. So exhausted are France’s firefighting resources that colleagues from Romania, Italy, Poland and Austria, as well as aircraft from Greece and Sweden, have been called in to tackle the flames.

New rituals

In the Ricou household, the drought has sparked a new ritual. Every few days, Brigitte Ricou climbs into the back of her bush to photograph her water meter. It’s the best way to keep track of how much she, her husband, and her visiting grandson are using. “We look at our meter a lot,” she told CNN from her kitchen in Lower Seian, where there is a daily limit of 200 liters per inhabitant. He said it was difficult to estimate how much water each person used each day and it was something that required practice and thought.
She and her husband have implemented a number of measures to limit water use, from washing food in bowls to using the same water for their plants. They use bottled water for drinking, take shorter showers and don’t flush the toilet after each use. “Sometimes I drastically reduce my consumption to get my 200 litres,” he said, adding that he does not see the quota as a right, as some do, but as a ceiling. “This water is precious.” For Seillans mayor René Ugo, water is more like a “sacred” resource. A small stream that ran through the town year-round was once the lifeblood of many businesses below Seian, from a perfume shop to an oil mill, he said. But as it dried up, so did business. This year, it hasn’t flowed at all. “It was a warning,” Ugo said, referring to his observations of dry conditions in January. “I was afraid of what might happen and those fears came true.” And in Seillans, the containment measures go far beyond containment – the town is now trucking in fresh water. The local town hall oversaw the purchase of a water tanker, which now makes eight consecutive return trips to replenish water tanks in the worst-hit areas. Filling from a fire hydrant fed from an underground spring—water filtered naturally from the rock—the truck deposits 8,000 liters at a time. While the mayor acknowledges it’s a short-term fix, it’s also an investment for the future. There are no plans to sell the truck at the end of the dry season, he says, in a tacit admission that the village could face such shortages again. It’s also a cost local residents will have to shoulder, with higher water bills, the mayor said, another sore point as the crisis bites the cost of living. For local policeman Philippe Grenêche, extreme drought has become the new normal, even part of his rhythm. He and his colleague now patrol the village looking for evidence of water-related offences: For example, green lawns are a sure sign of sprinkler use, which is prohibited. Pools that appear to have been refilled are another sign of violations. Sometimes people are even caught stealing water from fire hydrants. “We had black gold,” Grenêche told CNN, referring to the value of oil, as his patrol car drove through the hills of Seillans. “And now with all that, we have ‘blue gold’.” Reporter Amandine Hess contributed to this report.

title: “Europe Drought One City Calls Water Blue Gold In One Of Its Worst Droughts On Record Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-11” author: “Beatrice Smith”

Messeli’s reservoirs were emptied for the first time since last winter was remarkably dry. She then had to rely on tap water to grow the organic fruit and vegetables that make up the baskets she sells to neighbors and local markets. Then, in May, local authorities turned off the taps as well. France is experiencing what authorities say is possibly the worst drought on record. It’s a similar picture across much of Europe – more than 60% of land in the European Union is under drought warnings or more severe alerts, according to the European Drought Monitor. The rain has been so little that large rivers are drying up in places. The Loire and Rhone in France, the Po in Italy and the Rhine in Germany all have particularly low water levels, some of which have even shrunk, affecting transport, agriculture and energy production. Now torrential rains are affecting several areas of the country. In the Loire region of central France, they have caused flooding. The soil is so parched, like a dry sponge, that it simply cannot absorb as much rain. In Paris, the floods that hit on Tuesday night forced the closure of 10 metro stations. Stormy weather brought relief from the heat, but little to break the drought. What is needed is less intense and more consistent rain over much longer periods of time. In January, when concerns about the dry winter surfaced, Seillans officials offered to sell Messelis’ trucked-in emergency water reserves at €20 ($20.40) per cubic meter (about 264 gallons), he said. Private suppliers offered only slightly cheaper prices. Normally, he would pay just about 50 cents ($0.51) for the same amount from the faucet. It was an impossible choice for her. “It’s not worth starting,” the 54-year-old farmer told CNN. “It’s almost like we’re only working to pay for the water.” Unlike previous generations, Messeli’s neighbors today are more likely to have a swimming pool than a vegetable plot, a somewhat harsh irony for her this summer: During the first period of water restrictions, residents were still allowed to fill up their pools, while the crops withered. “It was a moment of shock,” he said. “It’s so obvious that the priority [should be] to eat.”

Black clouds

In May, Seillans residents were put on water vouchers, with 150 liters a day per person at the worst point in the community. It wasn’t long before the rest of the Seillans were also given daily limits, albeit higher than 200 litres. It should be enough to cover basic needs — the average French consumes 149 liters daily. However, without control, it is easy to use hundreds of liters more. Just turning on a tap while brushing your teeth or between washing the dishes wastes six liters of water every minute. Seyenne was one of the first communes in France to run out of sufficient water for residents this year, but as of early August, about 100 communes were in the same position, according to French Ecological Transition Minister Christophe Béchu. Many areas of the Var region have seen about 80% less rain than the long-term average between early July and August 10, according to the drought mission for the regional land and sea directorate. Some areas have seen no measurable rain at all. The region is now “in crisis,” mission chief Julien Asante told CNN. Droughts in the Mediterranean region where Seillans is located have increased in frequency already due to the anthropogenic climate crisis, and the heat waves that can exacerbate them are also more common and more intense, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The more the Earth warms, the more the region will experience droughts, droughts and fire weather. And the drought doesn’t just affect farmers and households. With it came intense fires. More than 780,000 hectares (over 3,000 square miles) across Europe have burned so far this year, according to the European Forest Fire Information System. So exhausted are France’s firefighting resources that colleagues from Romania, Italy, Poland and Austria, as well as aircraft from Greece and Sweden, have been called in to tackle the flames.

New rituals

In the Ricou household, the drought has sparked a new ritual. Every few days, Brigitte Ricou climbs into the back of her bush to photograph her water meter. It’s the best way to keep track of how much she, her husband, and her visiting grandson are using. “We look at our meter a lot,” she told CNN from her kitchen in Lower Seian, where there is a daily limit of 200 liters per inhabitant. He said it was difficult to estimate how much water each person used each day and it was something that required practice and thought.
She and her husband have implemented a number of measures to limit water use, from washing food in bowls to using the same water for their plants. They use bottled water for drinking, take shorter showers and don’t flush the toilet after each use. “Sometimes I drastically reduce my consumption to get my 200 litres,” he said, adding that he does not see the quota as a right, as some do, but as a ceiling. “This water is precious.” For Seillans mayor René Ugo, water is more like a “sacred” resource. A small stream that ran through the town year-round was once the lifeblood of many businesses below Seian, from a perfume shop to an oil mill, he said. But as it dried up, so did business. This year, it hasn’t flowed at all. “It was a warning,” Ugo said, referring to his observations of dry conditions in January. “I was afraid of what might happen and those fears came true.” And in Seillans, the containment measures go far beyond containment – the town is now trucking in fresh water. The local town hall oversaw the purchase of a water tanker, which now makes eight consecutive return trips to replenish water tanks in the worst-hit areas. Filling from a fire hydrant fed from an underground spring—water filtered naturally from the rock—the truck deposits 8,000 liters at a time. While the mayor acknowledges it’s a short-term fix, it’s also an investment for the future. There are no plans to sell the truck at the end of the dry season, he says, in a tacit admission that the village could face such shortages again. It’s also a cost local residents will have to shoulder, with higher water bills, the mayor said, another sore point as the crisis bites the cost of living. For local policeman Philippe Grenêche, extreme drought has become the new normal, even part of his rhythm. He and his colleague now patrol the village looking for evidence of water-related offences: For example, green lawns are a sure sign of sprinkler use, which is prohibited. Pools that appear to have been refilled are another sign of violations. Sometimes people are even caught stealing water from fire hydrants. “We had black gold,” Grenêche told CNN, referring to the value of oil, as his patrol car drove through the hills of Seillans. “And now with all that, we have ‘blue gold’.” Reporter Amandine Hess contributed to this report.

title: “Europe Drought One City Calls Water Blue Gold In One Of Its Worst Droughts On Record Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-04” author: “Kelli Swartzentrube”

Messeli’s reservoirs were emptied for the first time since last winter was remarkably dry. She then had to rely on tap water to grow the organic fruit and vegetables that make up the baskets she sells to neighbors and local markets. Then, in May, local authorities turned off the taps as well. France is experiencing what authorities say is possibly the worst drought on record. It’s a similar picture across much of Europe – more than 60% of land in the European Union is under drought warnings or more severe alerts, according to the European Drought Monitor. The rain has been so little that large rivers are drying up in places. The Loire and Rhone in France, the Po in Italy and the Rhine in Germany all have particularly low water levels, some of which have even shrunk, affecting transport, agriculture and energy production. Now torrential rains are affecting several areas of the country. In the Loire region of central France, they have caused flooding. The soil is so parched, like a dry sponge, that it simply cannot absorb as much rain. In Paris, the floods that hit on Tuesday night forced the closure of 10 metro stations. Stormy weather brought relief from the heat, but little to break the drought. What is needed is less intense and more consistent rain over much longer periods of time. In January, when concerns about the dry winter surfaced, Seillans officials offered to sell Messelis’ trucked-in emergency water reserves at €20 ($20.40) per cubic meter (about 264 gallons), he said. Private suppliers offered only slightly cheaper prices. Normally, he would pay just about 50 cents ($0.51) for the same amount from the faucet. It was an impossible choice for her. “It’s not worth starting,” the 54-year-old farmer told CNN. “It’s almost like we’re only working to pay for the water.” Unlike previous generations, Messeli’s neighbors today are more likely to have a swimming pool than a vegetable plot, a somewhat harsh irony for her this summer: During the first period of water restrictions, residents were still allowed to fill up their pools, while the crops withered. “It was a moment of shock,” he said. “It’s so obvious that the priority [should be] to eat.”

Black clouds

In May, Seillans residents were put on water vouchers, with 150 liters a day per person at the worst point in the community. It wasn’t long before the rest of the Seillans were also given daily limits, albeit higher than 200 litres. It should be enough to cover basic needs — the average French consumes 149 liters daily. However, without control, it is easy to use hundreds of liters more. Just turning on a tap while brushing your teeth or between washing the dishes wastes six liters of water every minute. Seyenne was one of the first communes in France to run out of sufficient water for residents this year, but as of early August, about 100 communes were in the same position, according to French Ecological Transition Minister Christophe Béchu. Many areas of the Var region have seen about 80% less rain than the long-term average between early July and August 10, according to the drought mission for the regional land and sea directorate. Some areas have seen no measurable rain at all. The region is now “in crisis,” mission chief Julien Asante told CNN. Droughts in the Mediterranean region where Seillans is located have increased in frequency already due to the anthropogenic climate crisis, and the heat waves that can exacerbate them are also more common and more intense, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The more the Earth warms, the more the region will experience droughts, droughts and fire weather. And the drought doesn’t just affect farmers and households. With it came intense fires. More than 780,000 hectares (over 3,000 square miles) across Europe have burned so far this year, according to the European Forest Fire Information System. So exhausted are France’s firefighting resources that colleagues from Romania, Italy, Poland and Austria, as well as aircraft from Greece and Sweden, have been called in to tackle the flames.

New rituals

In the Ricou household, the drought has sparked a new ritual. Every few days, Brigitte Ricou climbs into the back of her bush to photograph her water meter. It’s the best way to keep track of how much she, her husband, and her visiting grandson are using. “We look at our meter a lot,” she told CNN from her kitchen in Lower Seian, where there is a daily limit of 200 liters per inhabitant. He said it was difficult to estimate how much water each person used each day and it was something that required practice and thought.
She and her husband have implemented a number of measures to limit water use, from washing food in bowls to using the same water for their plants. They use bottled water for drinking, take shorter showers and don’t flush the toilet after each use. “Sometimes I drastically reduce my consumption to get my 200 litres,” he said, adding that he does not see the quota as a right, as some do, but as a ceiling. “This water is precious.” For Seillans mayor René Ugo, water is more like a “sacred” resource. A small stream that ran through the town year-round was once the lifeblood of many businesses below Seian, from a perfume shop to an oil mill, he said. But as it dried up, so did business. This year, it hasn’t flowed at all. “It was a warning,” Ugo said, referring to his observations of dry conditions in January. “I was afraid of what might happen and those fears came true.” And in Seillans, the containment measures go far beyond containment – the town is now trucking in fresh water. The local town hall oversaw the purchase of a water tanker, which now makes eight consecutive return trips to replenish water tanks in the worst-hit areas. Filling from a fire hydrant fed from an underground spring—water filtered naturally from the rock—the truck deposits 8,000 liters at a time. While the mayor acknowledges it’s a short-term fix, it’s also an investment for the future. There are no plans to sell the truck at the end of the dry season, he says, in a tacit admission that the village could face such shortages again. It’s also a cost local residents will have to shoulder, with higher water bills, the mayor said, another sore point as the crisis bites the cost of living. For local policeman Philippe Grenêche, extreme drought has become the new normal, even part of his rhythm. He and his colleague now patrol the village looking for evidence of water-related offences: For example, green lawns are a sure sign of sprinkler use, which is prohibited. Pools that appear to have been refilled are another sign of violations. Sometimes people are even caught stealing water from fire hydrants. “We had black gold,” Grenêche told CNN, referring to the value of oil, as his patrol car drove through the hills of Seillans. “And now with all that, we have ‘blue gold’.” Reporter Amandine Hess contributed to this report.