Environment minister says drought situation has improved but must not ‘weaken vigilance’

Environment and Climate Action Minister Duarte Cordeiro acknowledged this Friday that September rains “helped stem water loss at many dams” but warned that vigilance must not be “lowered”.

“We can say that today the situation is better than two weeks ago, but we cannot relax our vigilance,” he said.

During the opening of Parque dos Marmelos, one of the main green lungs in the city of Oliveira do Hospital, Duarte Cordeiro stressed that the rain forecasts for the rest of the month and for October offer “some hope”.

“But we need to know that context is the context of structural change,” he warned.

In his speech, the government spokesman pointed out that climate change is certainly one of the biggest challenges for the country, as well as for all of humanity.

“We had very clear evidence this year that there was an urgent need to adapt to this situation,” he said.

Duarte Cordeiro also stressed that this hydrological year, which ends in a week and a half, was “exceptionally dry” in Europe and had a great impact on the Iberian Peninsula.

“We have been hit by four heatwaves and we are experiencing the most severe hydrological drought this century due to an unusual combination of temperatures and low rainfall. This is the fifth year in a row with below average rainfall,” he said.

In order to mitigate the effects of the drought, measures have been taken across the country since February, including “limiting the use of water for electricity generation”, leaving also a set of recommendations to limit non-essential water use.

“The goal was very simple: to try to conserve and conserve water for what is needed. We have a very unequal territory and we have to work on this important aspect from the very beginning, which is to have water for our future,” he said. concluded.