Cyprus turns off taps to farmers as fresh water levels drop

Cyprus and other countries in the eastern Mediterranean are increasingly vulnerable to drought as the changing climate brings higher temperatures and less precipitation, according to Petteri Taalas, the general secretary of the World Meteorological Organization.

Reservoirs behind dams are at just 21.9 percent of capacity across Cyprus.

The government here imposed restrictions on using water for irrigation this month. The move was unpopular with farmers, but officials say it is the only way to prevent the reservoirs from running dry before the end of the year.

Taps continue to flow in urban areas because of a supply of more costly potable water that has been transformed from seawater by four desalination facilities.

“This is not enough,” said Theodoulos Mesimeris, a climate-change expert with the country's environment ministry.