Drought in the Balearic Islands: 98% of the territory affected

The drought in the Balearic Islands continues to worsen following an extremely hot and dry August. 98.4% of the territory is now under pre-alert or alert, while only 1.6% remains at normal status. Water reserves have also fallen to 38%, compared with 39% in July and 40% a year ago.

Cúber reservoir. Photo: Piter Castillo.

The situation has worsened across the islands’ ten demand units. Artà has moved into alert, while Tramuntana Sud has left normal status and moved into pre-alert. As a result, Formentera is the only unit that remains at normal status.

The deterioration is also reflected in water reserves. In Mallorca, they fell from 39% to 38% during August. Menorca dropped from 34% to 33%, while Eivissa recorded the largest fall, from 42% to 37%.

Drought in Mallorca: Artà moves into alert

The situation has worsened compared with July, when 31.6% of the Balearic Islands was under alert. One month later, this figure has risen to 37.6%.

The Artà, es Pla, Manacor-Felanitx and Migjorn units are currently under alert. Menorca, Palma-Alcúdia, Tramuntana Nord, Tramuntana Sud and Eivissa remain under pre-alert. Formentera is the only unit at normal status.

In territorial terms, 37.6% of the Balearic Islands is under alert and 60.8% under pre-alert. This means that practically the entire territory of the Balearic Islands, 98.4%, is now in one of these two situations.

The overall index for the Hydrographic Demarcation stood at 0.342 in August. This is above the 0.330 recorded a year ago, although below the 0.364 registered in August 2024.

Water reserves in the Balearic Islands fall to 38%

Water reserves across the archipelago fell by one percentage point over the past month, from 39% in July to 38% in August.

The decline follows the sharp fall recorded in July. During that month, water reserves in the Balearic Islands dropped from 45% to 39% in just one month. In Mallorca, the fall was even greater, from 46% to 39%.

August rainfall 55% below normal levels

The worsening drought comes after an especially dry August. According to data from the Spanish State Meteorological Agency (Aemet), the Balearic Islands recorded 9.6 litres per square metre, compared with the climatic average of 21.4. This represents a 55% rainfall deficit.

Mallorca recorded 8.8 litres per square metre, compared with an average of 21.1. Menorca received 6.1 litres, compared with the usual 16.2. Eivissa recorded 7.1 litres, compared with 23.7, while Formentera received 10 litres, against an average of 13.4.

Despite the lack of rain in August, accumulated rainfall over the past year stands at 99% of the climatic average across the Balearic Islands. The figure is 95% in Mallorca, 102% in Menorca and 120% in the Pitiüses (Pityusic Islands).