The 30 ° C exceeded in Montpellier Tuesday May 19, a first so early in the year. Then temperatures continued their Ascension Thursday: 30.1 ° C in Niort or Angers; 30.5 ° C in Paris; 31.8 ° C in Béziers. Without doubt a taste of what awaits us. After the very summer spring that we are currently experiencing, we can expect another hot summer.
Météo France, which has published its seasonal forecasts, anticipates over three months, from June to August, temperatures higher than normal and probably much drier too. "This has been a very regular phenomenon in recent years, a sign of global warming," notes Michèle Blanchard, climatologist at Météo France. Like the last three summers, return to the abnormal therefore.
Concerning the levels of rain, the models do not manage to release a scenario for the south of the country. On the other hand, in the North, from Charente to Grand-Est, Météo France predicts a deficit "because of the strong pressures and the high pressure on the British zone", explains the expert, who calls for vigilance.
Fear of a 2019 remake
“From February to mid-April, we didn't see a drop, explains Antoine Pariset, market gardener in Orliénas (Rhône). The few rainy days since have allowed us to breathe a bit but with the summer that we are announced… ”The peasant leaves his sentence in abeyance. In its department, the prefecture has placed several areas in drought vigilance months before summer, as in Ain or Ardèche.
Another culture, the same fears from the cereal plains of Loiret. Sébastien Méry describes: “The spring drought fell at the worst time when the cereals demand water. The height is that in the fall, the establishment of rapeseed was very difficult because of excess rain. The Chevannes farmer laughs yellow as we fear for the summer of 2020 a remake of the summer of 2019.
Last year the lack of water had led to catastrophic situations: dead fish floating in the air, grassless meadows, lavender roasting on the ground ... What worries is not so much the absence of rain than the state of reserves, in groundwater, soil or rivers. Especially since the heat of this spring, the vegetation woke up earlier than usual, "draining" the precious liquid.
58 departments in risk areas
While the French West Indies face shortages of drinking water, the Secretary of State for Ecological Transition, Emmanuelle Wargon, has just published for the first time a map of areas at risk, drought could reaching 58 departments in mainland France this summer. In the Grand-Est and in Burgundy, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Center-Val de Loire and Nouvelle-Aquitaine, it may be necessary to hunt for water this summer.
Yet at the national level, the heavy rains of winter have largely recharged the underground water reserves according to the BRGM (Bureau of Geological and Mining Research), which examines the state of our underground resources. "It also depends on the type of groundwater," says Violette Bault, hydrogeologist at BRGM. A sand floor for example allows water to infiltrate, the tablecloth will recharge quickly. This is not the case of the layers of the Massif Central, in ancient rocks, so-called inertial where the levels have been low, or even very low for several years. "
Tension is rising
As the level of available water drops, tension increases. In the Rhône, Antoine Pariset fears for his fruits and vegetables. "Until then everything is fine because we are connected to a network of agricultural water from the Rhône, but anger and frustration are already mounting because if the prefect turns off the tap, we will stop everything, while our neighbors will continue to jump into their pool . "
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Sébastien Méry, for his part, would have thought it wise to create water reservoirs this winter "It is obvious that we cannot control the weather, but perhaps we can store some of the water during periods of surplus, "he advises cautiously. What categorically refuse environmental associations. Peasants mobilized against the basins of private individuals, ecological NGOs worried about pumping and water reservoirs put in place by these same farmers ... With the drought, good local understanding can crack.