The Greek islands are grappling with a water crisis as tourist season kicks into gear

Photo: Stelios Misinas/Reuters. Retrieved from edition.cnn.com

The Greek Islands, known for their idyllic towns, rugged landscapes and sun-baked beaches, are in the grip of a serious crisis. Many are running alarmingly low on water — a problem set to get worse as the tourist season hits full flowand hot dry weather continues.

Severalislands, including Leros, Sifnos and parts of Crete and Kefalonia, have declared states of emergency over water shortages, as years of very low rainfall and an abnormally hot winter have taken a toll on reservoirs and underground water sources.

Authoritiesare scrambling to find solutions, including turning seawater into drinking water, as theislands prepare for millions of tourists to arrive in the weeks ahead.

In Naxos, a mountainous island in the Aegean Sea, fringed with long sandy beaches, reservoirs have shrunk dramatically, revealing parched lake beds. The island’s two rain-fed reservoirs now collectively hold around 200,000 cubic meters of water (52.8 million gallons), just a third of what they had last year.

“The situation for sure is bad,” said Naxos Mayor Dimitris Lianos.