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Record number of French regions face water restrictions
French official figures showed on Tuesday (July 26) that a record 90 out of 96 mainland French regions face water restrictions due to an ongoing drought, as scorching temperatures and low rainfall cause supply shortages in many areas.
The government's drought website Propluvia shows that only a handful of "departments" around the country are exempt from the restrictions, including the Paris area.
A colour-coded map indicates that the most severe measures -- including a ban on irrigation for farmland -- are in place in the northwest in the Loire river basin, as well as the southeast around the Rhone, the Anews reported, citing the AFP.
Areas in the southwest around the Tarn and Lot rivers are also in the highest red category, while even the normally verdant Alps are suffering from severe aridity.
The environment ministry said in a statement: "We have a record number of departments with restrictions.”
France experienced its third-driest spring on record this year after 2011 and 1976, according to the national weather service, with rainfall 45 percent below average levels.
Two severe heatwaves in May and latterly in July -- when temperatures soared above 40 Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) -- have further reduced water levels while searing farmland and forests.
Thousands evacuated as wildfires rage in southwestern France
Two huge blazes near Bordeaux in southwest France over the last fortnight have destroyed more than 20,000 hectares of tinder-dry forest and required around 2,000 firefighters to bring them under control.
Local authorities are restricting access to many wooded areas as a precaution, including the Calanques National Park along the Mediterranean coast near Marseille which is popular with tourists.
Source: anews
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