'No rain for two years': Northern Greece faces significant water crisis as drought persists

Prolonged drought conditions exacerbated by successive heatwaves this summer have seen northern Greece facing a major water crisis.

Transcript

00:00Northern Greece is facing a significant water crisis, owing to prolonged drought conditions

00:06exacerbated by successive heatwaves and a lack of rainfall.

00:11Until recently, Lake Pikralimni in northern Greece was a popular destination for mud baths,

00:17but this summer it's just cracked earth.

00:19It's been two years now, and it hasn't rained at all. That's why the lake has dried up completely.

00:26The shoreline of Lake Doirani, which straddles Greece's northern border with North Macedonia,

00:37has receded by 300 metres in recent years.

00:41In Halkidiki, the olive grove of Demetrius Papadakis is also suffering from drought.

00:47Six weeks before harvest, he and his son have to transport water by truck.

00:52And in Nea Potadia town in Halkidiki, a very popular tourist area, locals use all sorts

00:58of ways to cope with frequent household water cuts.

01:23The EU's emergency management service says acute drought conditions extend from the Black

01:29Sea westward into northern Greece.