This autumn's rainfall hasn't resolved the water shortage of 2004.
This autumn's rainfall, which is now coming to an end, was average for this time of year, although it was above average in the north of Majorca and in Ibiza. So said Antonio Mestre, of the National Meteorological Institute (INM). However, this will not alleviate the water shortage created last year, the driest on record.
He was referring to the new rainfall figures for November published by the Ministry for the Environment's Water Board, using data from the INM. Mestre added that the figures which the Water Board had published were not exactly the same as those of the INM, and although the INM had provided the data, sometimes the Ministry calculated their averages slightly differently. Also, the Ministry calculated the annual rainfall from October to October whereas the INM calculated it from September to September.
The head of the INM said that, comparing the figures for this November with those for the same month in 2004, the rainfall had almost doubled, with an average of 70 litres per square metre, very similar to the total average rainfall recorded since 1930. Nevertheless, he said, the comparison between November of this year and the same month for last year wasn't very reliable because 2004 was an excessively dry year, much drier than normal. So far, he continued, this autumn had been normal, with rainfall much the same as average for this time of year, although perhaps noticeably less in some places. He added that we would have to wait until winter to see if the snow would alleviate the water shortage brought about by the dry weather last year. Until now, he added, it appears that at least it hasn't been really dry for a second year, just a normal autumn in Spain. As for the whole of November it was only rainy on the Mediterranean side and in Cantabria, in contrast with the Atlantic coast, he said. So, he continued, in Extremadura, Andalucia and Castilla-La Mancha the rainfall for November has been less than average. It has also been less than average in the south of Galicia and in some areas of Castilla and Leon.
Water shortage continues despite November rainfall