Can tourists in Greece stay thirsty and unwashed? This question is currently of serious concern to hoteliers on the Greek islands in the Aegean Sea, where a chronic drought has reigned for several years. Most tourists take it for granted that they can shower several times a day and that there will be enough water, Gerd Höller wrote in an article published in various German newspapers, including the Rheinische Post, Berliner Morgenpost and ” Stuttgarter Nachrichten”.
The author explains that more and more money is needed to meet tourists’ needs for fresh water, while at the same time more and more hotels and villas with swimming pools are springing up and tourists are multiplying. Therefore, many of the islands have great difficulties in this regard, there is a danger of an emergency situation.
The deputy mayor of Naxos complained to local Greek radio that water supplies are running out, and water consumption in the first three months of 2024 has already increased by 28%. The reservoirs now held only about 12% of water compared to a year ago.
“The coming summer will be particularly critical. While water consumption is constantly growing, last winter it rained much less – a trend that has continued for three years now,” the German journalist wrote, quoting meteorologist Kostas Laguvardos as saying: “2023 was a particularly bad year for the Cyclades. One or two years without enough rainfall – and there you have the problem,” says the director of research at the National Observatory in Athens.
Gerd Höller notes that as a result of the drought, water supplies are also running out in the few dams on the islands – on Mykonos, for example, the two large reservoirs were already empty, writes “Deutsche Welle”.
“The local people of the Cyclades have long been used to saving water, but mass tourism has changed the picture. At the same time, tourists should not be startled by calls to save water. The precious liquid today is needed not so much for watering or watering – it is flows into the pools and jacuzzis”, writes the author and specifies that on the island of Santorini since 2020 water consumption has more than doubled, and on Mykonos it has risen by 38% between 2021 and 202.
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