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France on drought alert after driest period on record

The French government is considering introducing restrictions on water consumption as of March after the country recorded 32 continuous days, beginning on January 21st, without rainfall exceeding an average 1 millimetre, the driest period on mainland France since records began in 1959.

La rédaction de Mediapart

This article is freely available.

France is facing drought restrictions after its driest winter for more than 60 years, reports BBC News.

Following a month of no significant rainfall, the country is now in a state of alert.

Local officials will gather on Monday to assess the situation "territory by territory", ecological transition minister Christophe Béchu has said.

Last year was France's hottest year on record, according to national weather agency Météo-France.

Records were broken elsewhere in Europe - in the UK, Spain and Italy.

The hot temperatures triggered drought conditions that many regions are yet to recover from.

Snowfall in the Italian Alps is down by 53% and water levels in the Po basin of Italy's largest river are 61% below normal, according to researchers.

A state of emergency was declared last July in five northern regions surrounding the River Po because of the 2022 drought. Low tides in Venice have meant gondolas and water taxis are unable to move around because of muddy canals and the foundations of buildings in the Grand Canal have become exposed.

Last month, a report published by Nature Climate Change warned that the Alps, Europe's most important mountain range for supplying rivers, had seen a 5.6% reduction in snow cover duration per decade over the last 50 years.

Read more of this report from BBC News.