Catalonia declares drought emergency for Barcelona

BARCELONA, Feb 1: Spains northeastern Catalonia region declared a drought emergency for Barcelona on Thursday and the surrounding area, which will now face tighter water restrictions following three years without significant rain.
The head of the regional government of Catalonia, Pere Aragones, announced the step after reservoirs in the Mediterranean region saw their water levels falling to below 16 percent of full capacity.
That is the benchmark set by the authorities for applying a new round of water-saving measures that will affect some six million people.    —AFP