Ahe 6,000 inhabitants of the French town of Saint-Zacharie have always been proud of the 16 fountains that adorn its old town. But the water in the basin has dried up. The hope that the rain would return with the winter has not been fulfilled. The river that crosses the town in the Var department in the south of the country has dried up. The lack of rainfall has taken on alarming proportions across France.
The state weather service Météo France announced a negative record on Wednesday: there had been no significant rainfall in the country for 32 days. A number of winter sports resorts at lower altitudes have had to close pistes or shut down operations due to a lack of snow.
Environment Minister Christophe Béchu spoke on Wednesday of the “driest winter since 1959”. He announced that restrictions on water consumption should take effect from the beginning of March. “We have to prevent that we experience a catastrophic situation again in the summer,” he said.
Among other things, a ban on filling up private swimming pools is planned. Irrigation of gardens is to be banned in 87 municipalities in the south. The groundwater stocks were not replenished as usual in winter. It takes at least two and a half months of heavy rainfall to catch up.