The island’s reservoirs hit record lows even before the commencement of the annual tourist season. Cypriots have warned that every drop counts and have appealed to residents to reduce their water use by 2 minutes each day.
Cypriot authorities have urged their residents to reduce their water intake by 10%. That amounts to the equivalent of two minutes of running water each day. As Europe’s most southeastern nation currently grappling with a once-in-a-century drought.
The appeal was announced alongside a USD 36.58m (€31m/£27m) package of emergency measures. This comes as reservoirs hit record lows with little prospect of replenishment before the tourist season commences.
The head of the island’s water development department, Eliana Tofa Christidou, said that everyone has to reduce their consumption. Be it in the shower, brushing teeth, or using a washing machine. She added that times are critical, so every drop now counts.
Christidou went on to share with The Guardian that it was the Mediterranean’s worst drought in living memory. Dam inflows are at their lowest since 1901, when hydrological records began. Vast tracts of land across the island have been baked dry. This scenario includes prime forest areas desiccated and dying fast.
This winter has lashed other parts of Europe with rain. The re-emergence of the previously submerged church of St. Nicholas in the Kouris reservoir displays that water levels have reportedly dropped to a mere 12.2% of total reservoir capacity, which offered further proof of the worsening imminent crisis.
When the Kouris reservoir is full, this church of St. Nicholas monument would be submerged. Its appearance in what is by far the largest of a 110-strong reservoir network. It has demonstrated the scale of the emergency. Water reserves in February ’26 stand at 13.7% of total storage capacity. When compared with 26% this time last year, it’s a figure official were then calling as dire.
