Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

DROUGHT

Cities in Spain’s Andalusia set to have water restrictions over summer

The Andalusian president has warned that Málaga, Seville and Córdoba will have drought-related restrictions to water usage over the summer months unless there are “at least 30 days of rain in a row” beforehand. 

Published: 19 January 2024 11:38 CET
andalusia drought
Andalusian president Juanma Moreno has called on Spain's central government and the EU to help with his region's ongoing drought. (Photo by CRISTINA QUICLER / AFP)

Despite being in the midst of winter and rain being more frequent at present, Andalusian President Juanma Moreno is warning many of his region’s 8.5 million inhabitants to expect water cuts over the summer months.

“We’re facing an extreme situation and it’s not about being alarming, but about being realistic.” Moreno told journalists before meeting a committee of experts.

“We all have to make an enormous effort to restrict water consumption”. 

Of the eight provincial capitals, Moreno stated that currently the plan is for Seville, Córdoba and Málaga to be the big cities which have water restrictions over the summer months, that is if it doesn’t “rain for at least 30 days in a row”.  

Even though there has been rain in the region in December and January, dam water levels are at 20 percent or lower across Andalusia. 

On January 29th, Andalusia’s regional government will approve its fourth drought decree, confirming the type of water restrictions that will be implemented in Seville, Málaga and Córdoba.

A total of €200 million in funds have been allocated to the measures, €50 million of which will go to the agricultural sector.

Fifty-eight percent of Andalusian municipalities, which account for 5 million people, already have some form of water restriction in place, from reducing taps’ water pressure at night to restricting water use for pools, fountains, public showers, car washes and parks. 

So far the focus of the drought measures has been mainly on rural areas, but Moreno’s announcement marks the very real prospect of proper water usage limitations in Andalusia’s big cities.

Málaga, for example, is yet to suffer any water restrictions despite having one of the worst water deficits in the region.

In Córdoba there have never been water cuts and in Seville it hasn’t happened since the 1990s.

This is Andalusia’s longest sequía (drought in Spanish) since the 1960s.

Almería and Cádiz are the regions with the lowest water reserve levels, ranging from 9 to 15 percent of full capacity. 

The Andalusian leader stressed that his region’s drought is a “matter of national and international concern” calling on the central government to intervene and for it to also be addressed in the EU Parliament, as “Andalusia is the region in Europe that’s worst affected by climate change”. 

Andalusia exports almost half of Spain’s total in fruits and vegetables, and even though it’s climate is renowned for being hot and sunny, 2023 was its driest year in three decades, with rainfall 45 percent below the annual average.

Spain’s government has already invested €1.2 billion in improving the supply of drinking water in Andalusia, and there are imminent plans to install portable desalination plants, reopen wells and collect water from underground rivers. 

The idea of water being shipped into Andalusia as has also been suggested in Catalonia – the other region of Spain struggling with a terrible drought currently – has not been ruled out.

READ MORE: Catalonia imposes restrictions and may ship in water to combat drought

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

SPANISH TRADITIONS

Everything you need to know about Mother’s Day in Spain

Here's how and when in May Mother's Day is celebrated in Spain, and why it owes its roots to religion and a Valencian poet.

Published: 3 May 2024 13:37 CEST
Everything you need to know about Mother's Day in Spain

This year, Mother’s Day (El Día de la Madre) is celebrated in Spain on Sunday May 5th. It’s always celebrated on the first Sunday of the month of May.

On this day, young children in Spain give their mothers manualidades (crafts) they’ve made at school as a token of their love.

Husbands and older sons and daughters may buy their wives/mothers a present to say thanks for all that they do as matriarchs, which usually takes the form of a detalle (smaller present than for a birthday or Christmas), and will come accompanied by a message such as te quiero, mamá (I love you, mum).

According to experiences website Aladinia, the average Spaniards spends €65 on gifts on Mother’s Day. 

Other mums may send out text messages to wish each other ¡Feliz Día de la Madre! (Happy Mother’s Day!).

As it’s always celebrated on a Sunday, many shops will be closed but you can expect plenty of restaurants to be open for lunch and perhaps dinner. 

Depending where you’re from, the first Sunday of May may or may not be when you’re used to celebrating Mother’s Day in your home country.

Around the world over 100 countries celebrate Mother’s Day (or Mothering Sunday, more on the difference below) – 77 in May, 13 in March, and 14 at other times during the year.

Some countries, like the UK, celebrate Mothering Sunday on the fourth Sunday during Lent, meaning that the date changes each year. This is because Mothering Sunday was originally a Christian holiday in some European countries.

READ ALSO: How a female teacher campaigned for Spain to have a Father’s Day

Spain, however, celebrates Mother’s Day on the first Sunday in May each year, meaning that it doesn’t have a fixed date either. But it wasn’t always like that.

The history of Mother’s Day in Spain

The first Mother’s Day in Spain was celebrated in Madrid all the way back on October 4th, 1926. Much of the impetus for establishing a day to celebrate mothers came, rather fittingly, from a poet.

Julio Menéndez García, a Valencian poet and public servant, pushed for a special day to celebrate mothers. Spanish newspaper La Libertad published a short section on Garcìa’s efforts in October 1925:

“A Levantine poet, Julio Menéndez García, has had the happy initiative that in Spain and in the Spanish-speaking nations a day should be consecrated to extol the love of mothers. The establishment of Mother’s Day is something tender and sympathetic, which deserves to be welcomed by governments, the press and public opinion, as it involves the highest tribute to women in their most august representation.”

After the Civil War, the church moved the date to December 8th to coincide with the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, a key holiday among Catholics. 

Civil War-era poster urging Madrid mothers to leave the Spanish capital with their children before the arrival of Franco’s troops. (Photo by AFP)

But it wasn’t until 1965 that Mother’s Day was celebrated in May in Spain. The reason for this change of date was to separate the celebrations (both were considered important enough to have their own day) but also the influence of other countries, namely the United States.

The campaign for a Mother’s Day was originally started by Anna Jarvis, an American wanting to honour her mother, in 1908. By 1914, US President Woodrow Wilson officially signed it into law, establishing a May date. 

However, for many years in Spain department store El Corte Inglés maintained the date of 8th December, meaning that Spain Mother’s Day was celebrated twice a year for a while, commercially speaking at least.

In 1936 a local council in Breña Baja, on the Canary island of La Palma, became the first in Spain to move Mother’s Day to May.

However, in 1965 the church authorities officially decided to move Mother’s Day to May, a month consecrated to the Virgin Mary. May is also the month of female gods in the classical world, and in Catholicism is dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

Interestingly, Jarvis herself later campaigned against the day, arguing it had become overly commercialised, something Spaniards often bemoan about other imported American customs like Halloween and Valentine’s Day. 

READ ALSO: How a female teacher campaigned for Spain to have a Father’s Day

SHOW COMMENTS