BARCELONA — Spain's primary agricultural regions are facing what officials describe as the most severe drought conditions in at least 75 years, with reservoir levels across the Catalonia region dropping below 16% capacity and emergency water restrictions already in effect for millions of residents.
The crisis, which extends across much of southern Europe from Portugal to Greece, has prompted European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to convene an emergency summit next week to coordinate a continental response. Preliminary estimates suggest crop losses could exceed €8 billion if conditions persist through the summer growing season.
"We are witnessing the consequences of climate change in real time," said Spanish Environment Minister Teresa Ribera during a press briefing in Madrid. "What we're experiencing now is not an anomaly — it's a preview of our future unless we fundamentally transform how we manage water resources."
In Catalonia alone, approximately 6 million people are now subject to water use restrictions that limit household consumption to 200 liters per person per day. Swimming pools cannot be filled, car washing is prohibited, and agricultural irrigation has been reduced by 40% from typical allocations.
The situation is particularly dire in the Segarra-Garrigues irrigation district, where olive and almond farmers are being forced to make agonizing decisions about which trees to sacrifice. José María Pelegrí, president of the local agricultural cooperative, estimates that up to 30% of orchards in the region may be permanently lost.
"These are trees that my grandfather planted," said Pelegrí, surveying rows of withering olive trees on his family's 50-hectare farm. "We can go without income for a year, but if the trees die, we lose everything we've built over three generations."
Climate scientists point to a combination of factors driving the crisis: exceptionally low rainfall over the past 18 months, record-high temperatures that accelerate evaporation, and long-term shifts in precipitation patterns associated with climate change. Data from the European Drought Observatory shows that 63% of the Iberian Peninsula is currently experiencing severe or extreme drought conditions.
While desalination plants along the Mediterranean coast are operating at maximum capacity, they can only supplement, not replace, the natural water cycle that has sustained the region's agriculture for millennia.