France's Small Rivers Face 'Historical' Drought, OFB Says

Overview

• The Office français de la biodiversité reported on August 1 that 1,373 small watercourses were affected by flow breaks or complete drying, an increase of 554 in one month.
• OFB monitoring shows 43% of ONDE stations are impacted, a level the agency calls the most critical ever recorded for this time of year and worse than the 2022 episode.
• Météo‑France links the rapid deterioration since June to a persistent anticyclone, a lack of significant precipitation, and several summer heat waves including one continuing since July 28.
• Regions along a corridor from Vendée to Grand Est and the centre-south are hardest hit and low Loire levels in July combined with high water temperatures have caused localized fish die-offs.
• The ONDE/OFB monitoring system uses counts of flow breaks and percent of stations to compare years, and the current readings signal rising water shortages for households, farms, and river ecosystems that will require stepped-up management and restrictions.