Reservoir water levels need to rise 'significantly' for drought emergency to end

Catalonia's Minister for Climate Action has warned that water levels in reservoirs need to reach 27 or 28% in order for emergency drought measures to be eased. 

Water levels are currently at 16.63%, as of April 2, after heavy rains over Easter. 

"If we forecast that there will be rain, and we reach a significant percentage in the internal river basins, it is possible that we will consider lifting the emergency," David Mascort told Catalunya Ràdio. 

"It wouldn't make sense," however, to lift the emergency with the reservoirs at 17 or 18%, he argued, as it could mean declaring a state of emergency again in a month and a half. 

It needs to rain, the climate action minister added, as it did in the months of May and June last year. 

Mascort said he was confident that Catalonia will not enter emergency phase 2 (of 3) in the summer, as long as it rains a little. 

Over 200 municipalities, including Barcelona, entered emergency phase 1 in February, after more than three and a half years of drought.