“This year Greece is experiencing an unusually hot summer with little rain. Last June was the warmest on record,” writes his correspondent German Journalist Network (RND) in Greece, Gerd Heller, for the heatwaves affecting the country.

“Add to that the drought. In many parts of the country it has not rained for months. […] Last winter also had very little rainfall: in Athens and Thessaloniki the rain was doubled compared to the usual levels, while in Crete it reached only 40%.

As a result, the level in the reservoirs used for the supply of drinking water is decreasing – and the situation is serious in some of the Greek islands. The tanks in Naxos, which hosts more than 20,000 permanent residents and tens of thousands of vacationers, they’re almost empty.”

The huge numbers of tourists flocking to the Greek islands exacerbate the problem. “This year the country is heading for a new tourist record. But vacationers are often careless and wasteful in consuming precious water. As Nikos Zorzos, mayor of Santorini, reports, “water consumption on the island has risen by 140% since 2012″. Compared to 2021, water consumption in Mykonos has increased by approximately 40%,” concludes the RND.