France Records 98 Departments Placed Under Drought Surveillance

Overview

• VigiEau reports 98 départements are now on drought watch, with 42 in “crise”, 27 in “alerte renforcée”, 16 in “alerte” and 13 in “vigilance.”
• Ministry instructions require each département to convene its water‑resource committee and to speed the issuance of préfectoral orders when local thresholds are reached.
• There are currently 201 arrêtés préfectoraux in force that can restrict irrigation, filling private pools, vehicle washing, garden watering and some industrial uses.
• New Aquitaine is the worst hit region with 11 of 12 departments in crisis, while Guadeloupe and Martinique sit at alert and La Réunion at reinforced alert; alerts can target only parts of a département.
• Officials link the surge in alerts to repeated heat episodes this summer and say weekly basin-level monitoring and tougher enforcement will determine whether further local restrictions follow.