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SPAIN’S reservoirs were at 42.2% of total capacity at the start of August- 1.8% more than a year ago, according to the Weekly Hydrological Bulletin.
Spring rains helped improve reserves but the figure is below the 58.7% average of the last 10 years, with serious issues continuing in some parts of the country.
There has been an overall capacity drop across Spain of 1.2% in the last week, which was the second largest decrease of the year- after that of the previous week
The decrease has gone hand in hand with the virtual absence of summer rain, except in June (and especially the north of the country) which saw double the expected average precipitation.
The situation is especially worrying in the Guadalquivir basin where reservoirs are at just 21.1% capacity while the Andalucian Mediterranean Basin stands at 29.6%.
The Andalucia average shows reservoirs at 22.5% of their capacity, six points less than last year, when the situation was then regarded as critical.
Meanwhile, the interior of Catalunya on Wednesday declared a drought emergency in 24 municipalities with restrictions already in place in popular tourist areas.
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