Portugal cuts golf course irrigation in drought-hit Algarve tourist hub

View of an abandoned village submerged by the low water level at Cabril dam reservoir, Pedrogao Grande (Portugal), 13 July, 2022.

According to the latest heat wave data published by IPMA, 99% of Portugal's territory is already in severe or extreme drought.

IPMA reported that the maximum temperature in Portugal during the first 17 days in July was 33.9 degrees Celsius. This is 5.2 degrees higher than the same period last summer.

Duarte Cordeiro, Environment Minister, stated that the Algarve restrictive measure had been agreed to by the government and the AHETA Hotels association. It would help save 100 million litres of water over the summer months.

Portugal has more than 10,000,000 inhabitants. The daily water consumption per capita is 18 litres.

He said to reporters that it was confirmed that this is the worst drought in the century. All Portuguese must save water - farmers, families, and the tourism sector.

He stated that August would also be very hot in the country and added that there will not be any rationing of water.

According to National Statistics Institute (INE), the number of foreign tourists who visited Portugal in May jumped six-fold to more than 1.58million, but fell just 9% below pre-coronavirus outbreak levels.

The largest proportion of May arrivals came from Britain at 16%. Most were heading to the Algarve.

Climate change has made the Iberian peninsula the driest since 1,200 years. Winter rains are likely to drop further, according to a study published in Nature Geoscience.

Portugal's water supply is 75% devoted to agriculture, however the environmental agency APA estimates that around a third of this water is lost due to outdated irrigation and distribution systems.