A drought that has parched fields and prompted water restrictions in Spain since 2021 could be over soon thanks to recent abundant rainfall, national weather agency AEMET said on Tuesday.
When yearly precipitation figures are compared with the rain that has fallen in the past year, “we cannot speak of drought in Spain”, AEMET spokesman Ruben del Campo told a press conference.
But a long-term measurement taking into account precipitation over the three previous years shows that the “amount of rain accumulated… remains below normal” in the country on the climate crisis frontline.
“With the amount of rain falling now in March, it cannot be ruled out that this situation ends up being reversed,” Del Campo said, adding “it is probable that we emerge in March” from the long-term drought.
Downpours in the first nine days of March have drenched Spain with an amount of rain that usually falls during the entire month, he said.
The recent rainfall included Spain’s wettest October on record, which culminated in the historic floods that devastated the eastern Valencia region and killed 232 people according to a government toll.
Scientists say climate change driven by human activity is increasing the intensity, frequency and duration of extreme weather events such as droughts and floods.
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