1. Indicator assessment

Water scarcity arises when the demand for water exceeds the volume of renewable freshwater available. It affected 16 % of the EU-27 territory and 26 % of its population nearly all year round in 2019. Although water abstraction declined by 15 % in the EU-27 between 2000-2019, no explicit downward trend is observed in water scarcity conditions. Water scarcity is an issue affecting areas all across the EU. Climate change exacerbates the natural fluctuations in seasonal water availability, resulting in increased frequency, intensity and impacts of drought events.

EU level

Figure 1 - Worst water scarcity conditions for European river basins in any quarter of 2019, as measured by using the water exploitation index plus (WEI+)

Note: 

• WEI+ illustrates the percentage of water consumption against renewable freshwater resources available for a given territory and period.
• This map gives an overview of the worst seasonal water scarcity conditions (maximum seasonal WEI+) in any quarter of 2019 across river basin in Europe. Seasonal WEI+ values are estimated as quarterly averages per river basin, as defined in the European Catchments and Rivers Network System (Ecrins).
• Annual quarters are: Q1 (January-March), Q2 (April-June), Q3 (July-September), Q4 (October-December)

Data sources:

• Waterbase — Water Quantity provided by the European Environment Agency (EEA, 2021).
• European Catchments and Rivers Network System (Ecrins) provided by the European Environment Agency (EEA, 2018).
• Waterbase — UWWTD: Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive — reported data provided by the Directorate-General for Environment (DG ENV) and the European Environment Agency (EEA, 2020).
• The European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E-PRTR), Member States reporting under Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 166/2006 provided by the European Environment Agency (EEA, 2019).
• Water statistics (Eurostat) provided by the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat, 2021b).
• Distributed Water Balance and Flood Simulation Model provided by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) (Burek et al., 2013).

Aggregate level assessment

 Freshwater resources are essential for human health, nature, and the functioning of economies and societies. However, across Europe, these resources are threatened by multiple pressures. To address this, the Water Framework Directive requires Member States to promote the sustainable use of water resources (EU, 2000a). Monitoring the pressure on freshwater resources is important for assessing progress towards this objective and for identifying areas prone to water scarcity. This is also in line with the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.4.2, which aims at monitoring global water scarcity issues.

Water scarcity is determined primarily by (1) water demand, which largely depends on population and socio-economic activities; and (2) climatic conditions, which control water availability and the seasonality of supply. Assessing water scarcity conditions across Europe at river basin level from season to season is more informative, compared to aggregated annual estimates at European or even country level, which masks the extent or intensity of the problem for certain areas or seasons. The water exploitation index plus (WEI+) measures water consumption as a percentage of the renewable freshwater resources available for a defined territory and period: values above 20 % indicate that water resources are under stress; values above 40 % indicate that stress is severe and freshwater use is unsustainable (Raskin et al., 1997).

In general, water scarcity is more common in southern Europe, where more than half of the population lives permanently under water scarcity conditions almost all year round. Water abstractions for agriculture, public water supply and tourism are the most significant pressures on freshwater. 

Water scarcity is not limited to southern Europe, but extends further to river basins in western, eastern and northern Europe. This is caused primarily by significant urbanisation, combined with high levels of abstraction for public water supply, energy and industry. During the last decade drought events are also becoming more frequent and severe in these areas having impact  particularly seasonal water availability.

In 2019, 16% of the EU-27 territory and 26% of its population were affected by water scarcity conditions for at least three quarters of the year. Temporary water scarcity conditions, only for one quarter of the year, affected another 15% of the EU-27 territory and 23% of its population[1]. Despite total water abstraction declined by 15 % in the EU-27 between 2000-2019, no explicit downward trend is observed for population and area affected by water scarcity conditions.

[1] At EEA-38 level, 17% of the territory and 38% of the population were affected by water scarcity conditions at least in one quarter of 2019.

Climate change threatens to reduce further the availability of freshwater resources in parts of southern and western Europe and exacerbates the natural fluctuations in seasonal water availability. As a result, the frequency, intensity and impacts of drought events are increasing. Therefore, more effort is needed to ensure sustainable water use across Europe. and improvement of socio-economic and ecosystem resilience against water scarcity conditions.

Country level

Figure 2 - Worst seasonal water scarcity conditions for European countries in any quarter of 2019, as measured by using the water exploitation index plus (WEI+).

Note: 

• WEI+ illustrates the percentage of water consumption against renewable freshwater resources available for a given territory and period.
• This figure gives an overview of the worst seasonal water scarcity conditions (maximum seasonal WEI+) in any quarter of 2019 across countries in Europe. Seasonal WEI+ values are estimated as quarterly averages per country. Worst quarter of the year for water scarcity conditions is provided in brackets next to the name of the country.
• Annual quarters are: Q1 (January-March), Q2 (April-June), Q3 (July-September), Q4 (October-December)

Data sources:

• Waterbase — Water Quantity provided by the European Environment Agency (EEA, 2021).
• Water statistics provided by the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat, 2021b).
• Aquastat water database provided by FAO(FAO, 2021) .
• OECD water database provided by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, 2021).

In 2019, the countries that faced the most significant water scarcity conditions on the annual scale were Cyprus, and Malta (annual WEI+ > 20%; see further Country annual WEI+ results). Cyprus and Malta also showed significant water scarcity conditions on the seasonal scale, followed by Greece, Portugal, Spain and Turkey (seasonal WEI+ > 20%; see further Country seasonal WEI+ results) (Figure 2). In general, water scarcity conditions intensify between July and September in the majority of the EEA-38 countries. This is a combination of dry weather, reduced flows and increased abstractions for irrigated agriculture, tourism and other socio-economic activities during that period of the year.

Certain river basins and NUTS2 regions, which were significantly affected by seasonal water scarcity in 2019, are found in Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Spain and Turkey (seasonal WEI+ > 20%; see further NUTS2 seasonal WEI+ results and River basin seasonal WEI+ results).