Seven Aegean Islands Declare Drought Emergencies This Year

Seven islands in the Aegean Sea declared drought emergencies this year to preserve supplies ahead of peak summer demand. The islands are Astypalaia, Tinos, Alonissos, Leros, Patmos, Symi and Karpathos. The Independent reported that authorities acted after rainfall patterns left some areas without relief during Greece's wettest winter since 2022.

Astypalaia, which relies on bottled water for drinking, recorded its second driest winter since 2020. The island's sole reservoir, the Livadi lake built in the mid-1990s, held 150,000 cubic metres in recent weeks, one-sixth of capacity. Daily summer consumption reaches about 900 cubic metres, enough to empty the lake in roughly five and a half months at current rates.

Authorities cut irrigation access for farmers in April and declared a formal water emergency in May. They approved a temporary desalination plant in Chora with daily output of 600 cubic metres. Mayor Nikos Komineas said the measures were taken with a heavy heart but noted an alternative supply exists for affected users if rain returns.

Environment Minister Stavros Papastavrou approved 15 million euros for desalination, grid upgrades and water tanks across nine islands, with 1.5 million euros allocated to Astypalaia. In June he briefed counterparts in Luxembourg on water resilience. A Copernicus European Drought Observatory map marked Astypalaia in orange that month.

Farmer Evdokia Palatianou, 71, said her vegetables withered after she lost lake access and had to use brackish well water. Hotel operator Maria Alkalai offers guests a 5-euro voucher to skip daily room cleaning. The National Centre for Scientific Research 'Demokritos' stated drought could intensify by 2049 as temperatures rise.