00:00Nearly 70% of France is subject to water use restrictions as drought conditions worsen amid successive heat waves, the
00:08government said on Monday.
00:09A series of heat waves over the past three months, compounded by drought, have broken temperature records, caused thousands of
00:17excess deaths, and fueled massive wildfires.
00:19As of Sunday, the vast majority of mainland France, including the capital Paris, were under at least the first water
00:26warning level, with 67 of the country's 101 departments under the highest crisis alert.
00:33In areas subject to the highest alert, water is reserved for priority uses such as healthcare, civil protection, drinking water,
00:41and sanitation.
00:42Under lower alert levels, restrictions apply to activities such as watering gardens and green spaces, filling swimming pools, washing cars,
00:51and irrigating crops.
00:53In a further alarming sign, the country's Bureau of Geological and Mining Research said on Monday that two-thirds of
00:59the aquifers that provide most of France's drinking water have dropped below their normal levels.
01:05Ecology Minister Monique Barbour will convene an emergency meeting on the drought on Wednesday to discuss the crisis, including how
01:12long measures will be instated for.
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