Reservoir dries up

Experts concerned about drought in Greece

A grasshopper in the almost dry salt lake Pikrolimni

(Bild: APA/ Associated Press)

There is still water, but the news is alarming: the Mornos reservoir, which supplies the Greek metropolis of Athens with fresh water, has shrunk by a good quarter over the past two years. According to the national weather authority in Athens, this is due to a lack of rain, high temperatures and mild winters with little snowfall and therefore less thawing water.

Based on satellite data, the authority's experts have calculated that the area of the Mornos reservoir has shrunk from a good 17 square kilometers to around twelve square kilometers within two years. The sharpest decline has occurred in the past twelve months.

The Mornos reservoir was flooded to supply the Greek capital with fresh water.

(Bild: Wikipedia/ Future Perfect at Sunrise (CC BY-SA 3.0))

Sunken village reappears
The low water level is so extreme that the village of Kallio, which was once submerged in the water masses of the reservoir, has reappeared, as reported by the TV station Open. On Crete, the level of the Aposelemi dam is dropping, and on the Peloponnese peninsula, the level of the artificial lake Pinios is very low.

The drought is also making life increasingly difficult for people and nature in northern Greece. The drought is clearly evident at the Pikrolimni salt lake, whose mud baths once attracted tourists and which has now almost completely dried up. The surrounding municipality of Kilkis has asked residents to use water sparingly.

The Pikrolimni salt lake has almost completely dried up.

(Bild: APA/Associated Press)

And it's not just there that people are in need: the General Secretariat for Civil Protection has declared a state of emergency for 14 municipalities throughout the country with regard to water supply, including popular vacation islands such as Crete, Sifnos, Leros and Kefalonia.

Rain should come soon
The next rain is eagerly awaited. Meteorologists are predicting that it will come in the next few days. They are expecting precipitation in large parts of the country. Alternatively, the Greeks are pinning their hopes on a country saying that a hot, rainy summer is followed by a cold, snowy winter.