Residents of Tenerife must now exercise extreme caution in water usage. The Cabildo of Tenerife has confirmed this Sunday that it will declare a water emergency on the island due to one of the worst droughts in its history.
In an official statement, the Island Government has announced this Sunday that it will approve the declaration of a water emergency in the next plenary session to be held on Friday, March 1. The government group will present a motion seeking consensus from all political parties to address in unity the “serious drought situation affecting Tenerife”.
The President of the Cabildo, Rosa Dávila, makes a call for “unity” because “we are facing one of the driest winters in recent history and ensuring water supply for the citizens and the agriculture of Tenerife is a critical issue that transcends political boundaries”.
The President of the Cabildo, Rosa Dávila, makes a call for “unity” because “we are facing one of the driest winters in recent history
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Dávila is confident that the initiative will be approved unanimously “as we are going to make important decisions to tackle the drought we are experiencing”. “The people of Tenerife do not see ideological differences in this and it would be incomprehensible for political parties to have them. I trust that no responsible party will be left out”, she emphasized.
The Vice President of the Cabildo, Lope Afonso, also underscores the need to “go hand in hand on such an important matter, as the drought we are facing will have serious consequences for the agricultural sector in Tenerife, making it imperative that we urgently activate all tools at our disposal to mitigate, looking towards the summer, the effects of the weather situation”.
An olive farmer in the south of Tenerife. / Andrés Gutiérrez
This week, the Canary Islands Government addressed the consequences of the water crisis with representatives from all the cabildos in a meeting held in La Gomera, and from Tenerife, “we promote a working meeting with all agricultural organizations, to inform them of the technical data we handle at the Cabildo and the concern that the situation raises, especially looking ahead to summer.”
The motion urges the Insular Water Council of Tenerife to process the declaration of a water emergency for the island of Tenerife and to evaluate and implement, along with Balsas de Tenerife (Balten), all the actions that can be taken to ensure water supply for the population and agricultural sector, as well as preventive measures to avoid losses in the network and other measures related to the responsible use of water.
Water management entities on the island are exploring all possible actions to ensure water supply for the population and agricultural sector
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Furthermore, the proposal states that campaigns aimed at informing the public, especially tourists and visitors, as well as the local population, on the importance of responsibly using water resources should be promoted by the Insular Water Council and the Ministry of Tourism.
The official statement of the Insular Corporation adds that the motion for the declaration of a water emergency is based on technical information highlighting the consequences of warm temperature anomalies and the precipitation deficit of recent years. It also cites the conclusions of a report by Balsas de Tenerife (Balten) on the current situation, indicating that we are facing “an extreme and long-term drought in the midlands of the island of Tenerife”.
A report by Balsas de Tenerife (Balten) on the current situation indicates that we are facing “an extreme and long-term drought in the midlands of the island of Tenerife”
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The motion goes on to explain that precipitation has decreased at all the stations analyzed by between 15 and 40% and that evapotranspiration has mainly increased in the midlands with increases between 10 and 25%, in line with the rise in average air temperature and increased solar radiation. These situations have led to increased water inputs for crops due to a 15% drop in precipitation and a…
Only 30%.
As of the 1st day of this February, when a good part of the usual rainy season has already passed, the level of storage in the reservoirs managed by Balten, which is dependent on the Cabildo, stands at 34.6%, a level much lower than the same date last year, when it was at 52%.
The Valle Molina reservoir, in the Tegueste municipality, completely empty. / Carsten W. Lauritsen
The current circumstances are putting the continuity of current crops at risk in a large part of the island’s agricultural land, mainly in the midlands, unless measures supported by this emergency declaration are implemented. Technical data also point to a critical risk of water shortage in the coming months, which calls for immediate measures taken by the Cabildo through a quick and effective procedure.
The level of concern in the primary sector on the island is such that, if the lack of rain persists, «we will have a serious food problem». Potato and banana productions are the ones at highest risk, and the outlook does not generate optimism. Thus, the agricultural sector has described the situation as “dramatic” and demands urgent actions.
March of the Tenerife countryside this Saturday through the main streets of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. / María Pisaca
All data confirm that this winter is one of the most summery in memory. This is supported by data from the Izaña Observatory, located in the Teide National Park and dependent on the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet): last January matched the maximum average temperature recorded in 1966 since meteorological records began: 8.6 degrees Celsius.
Therefore, the first month of this 2024 has been the warmest in the past 110 years in the Tenerife summit. The nearly 9 degrees contrast with the most common average temperatures in this series of over a century, ranging between 3 and 6 degrees.
Farmers and livestock farmers in Tenerife describe the situation as “dramatic” and ensure that crops like potatoes and bananas are at serious risk
The warming trend is not only felt in the Teide National Park, a protected area particularly exposed to climate change. It is also noticeable across the rest of the island during a winter that, with few exceptions, has been marked by high temperatures and prolonged episodes of calima.
The latest monthly report provided by Aemet categorises the meteorological situation in Tenerife in particular and in Canary Islands in general as «extremely warm», not only at the summit. The average temperature last January on the island was 17 degrees and the maximum was 20.9 degrees, the highest in the past 60 years.
