In the serious problem of lack of water faced by the Greek islands in the middle of the tourist season, Reuters refers to the case of Naxos as well as other areas as a typical example.

On the Cycladic island, as reported by the international agency, the largest water reservoir has dried up while only turtles are found on its muddy bottom.

At the same time, seawater has seeped into empty irrigation wells, damaging the island’s valuable potato crop.

Further south, on her island Karpathosthe authorities have imposed restrictions on swimming pools, while on its northern island I’ll, the authorities are looking for a desalination plant to make seawater drinkable.

A few rains

Most of Greece has seen little or no rain for months. Now, as the country’s islands prepare to host a record number of summer tourists, the pressure on water supplies has rarely been heavier, farmers and scientists told Reuters.
“There has been a severe lack of rainfall across the Mediterranean and, particularly on Naxos, our surface reservoirs are empty,” said mayor of the island, Dimitris Lianos.

Authorities have secured three portable desalination plants that will treat seawater to make it safe to drink, which the mayor said should cover the shortfall for homes, hotels and swimming pools.

But farmers will receive none of the treated water and must rely on wells contaminated by sea aquifers.

Stelios Vathrakokoilis grows the famous Naxos potatoes, which are loved in Greece for their taste and are protected from imitation under EU rules. Yields will be more than halved this year because of salty irrigation water, he said.

“It’s a big disappointment because we humans failed to predict that climate change would knock on our doors,” he said indicatively.

Effects of anomia

Millions of tourists visit Greece every year to enjoy its ancient sites, pristine beaches and turquoise waters.

But the effects of climate change, including higher temperatures, erratic rainfall and wildfires threaten the future of the country’s biggest economic engine.
This year is particularly difficult.

After the warmest winter on record, fires started unusually early, some in areas where there would normally be snow.

The publication even mentions the death of six tourists, including the well-known British TV presenter Michael Mosley, who died last month as heatwaves swept through the country.

Climate experts fear the worst is yet to come.

Andrea Toreti, coordinator of the Copernicus Emergency Management Agency’s European and global drought observatory, said that once the effects of drought are visible, it is too late to act.