The Catalonia region of Spain is experiencing a long-term drought, which has shrunk reservoirs and led to water restrictions.
The Catalonia region of Spain is experiencing a long-term drought, which has shrunk reservoirs and led to water restrictions. Evidence of the drought stands out in satellite images of two large reservoirs in the region.
The Sau Reservoir (Pantà de Sau) and the Susqueda Reservoir (Pantà de Susqueda) are about 108 kilometers (67 miles) inland from Barcelona and supply the metropolitan area with drinking water. The low water levels of the reservoirs can be seen in the image above (right), acquired by the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 on April 12, 2023. The image on the left was acquired by the OLI on Landsat 8 in March 2021, when water levels in the reservoirs were higher.
Dams built along the Ter River created these reservoirs in the 1960s and they have become a vital source of water for Catalonia’s residents and farmers.
Read more at: NASA Earth Observatory
Photo Credit: Allison Nussbaum
