To cope with a drought that threatens in winter, the Minister of Ecological Transition, Christophe Béchu, called to make water restrictions at the end of February. A situation that could become usual in France, under the effect of climate change.
In France, it rained 510 billion cubic meters (m3) per year on average between 1990 and 2018, with annual variations between 400 billion and 600 billion m3according to data of the Professional Federation of Water Companies (FP2E). Just over 60 % From this volume naturally leaves in the atmosphere evaporating; The rest is transformed into “useful rains”, which will feed the rivers, infiltrate the soils and feed the phreatic tablecloths and soils to hydrate plants.
The “renewable water reserve” – what remains after evapotranspiration and transfers between countries – represents on average 200 billion m3 per year (with A downward trend). Human activities require to collect about 32 billion m each year on average3 since 2010 (excluding dams, which have for 650 billion m3), a large part of which is returned to aquatic environments.
The point on activities that take and consume the most of this resource to be increasingly rare.
Update of April 5, 2023 at 4:24 p.m.: Correction of the graph reflecting the samples and consumption of fresh water by use. The surfaces devoted to consumption were poorly calculated.
