Europe
Southern Europe under hydric stress
Drought is no longer marginal — it shapes farm campaigns, municipal water management and debate over large storage works. Resilience Hydrique covers the Mediterranean and continental arc where open-water evaporation reaches critical levels every year — chiefly in Spain, France, Italy and Portugal.
Comparative water stress map — Mediterranean
Reference evaporation (mm/year) across Spain, France, Italy and Portugal. Legend and indicative values shown on the map.
1,200–1,600 mm/year
Spain
Andalusia and the Mediterranean basin: pumping restrictions, irrigation quotas and hill reservoirs under pressure. Evaporation can exceed 1,500 mm/year on exposed basins — every stored m³ counts.
1,000–1,200 mm/year
France
Occitanie, PACA and Languedoc: irrigated agriculture, municipal reserves and mega-basins at the centre of public debate. Measurable evaporation cuts strengthen ICPE filings and public utility arguments.
1,000–1,200 mm/year
Italy
From the South (Sicily, Apulia) to the Po Valley: rice farming, agro-industry and municipalities share limited resources. Large storage and treatment basins lose significant volumes to evaporation.
1,400–1,600 mm/year
Portugal
Alentejo and the Portuguese interior: dry climate, high radiation and exposed farm basins. Evaporation rivals irrigation withdrawals — floating covers preserve litres with zero energy use.
The European Union is strengthening monitoring of hydric stress (drought, aquifers, restrictions). Across these territories, modular Hexprotect AQUA covers can cut evaporation by up to 96% (Nevada field reference, AWTT 2024) — millions of litres preserved per year on a single basin.