Is Cyprus running out of water?

Afxentis Kalogirou has been farming land in southwestern Cyprus for most of his adult life, growing apples and seasonal crops like lettuce, tomatoes and melons. Though the island is arid, the cold months are usually wet enough for him to irrigate during the summer. But this winter is different. The soil is dry and rock solid, and he will likely soon be struggling to irrigate his crops. 

He and hundreds of other farmers recently received word from the Cyprus Water Development Department informing them that the volume of water allocated for irrigation this year will be half that of 2024. They were also advised not to invest in seasonal crops on the basis that water supplies will be further reduced in the summer, meaning the plants would die. 

Now in his late sixties, Kalogirou faces the prospect of losing a large part of his income, which has already taken a hit due to failing apple harvests caused by low rainfall last year.

"The financial impact on me and other farmers in the region from not cultivating seasonal crops will be severe since seasonal crops account for 60% of our income," he said, adding that he anticipates further revenue losses from the fruit he grows. "The water we allocate to our trees is just enough to keep them alive," Kalogirou said.

Second dry rain season in Cyprus

"Last year was already bad, but this is the second year that is very dry," said Adriana Bruggeman, assistant professor with the Research Center for Energy, Environment and Water at the nonprofit Cyprus Institute. 

According to Cyprus' meteorological service, January 2025 registered the lowest level of monthly rainfall for almost three decades. And while the Mediterranean country is no stranger to dry spells, deputy director of its Water Development Department, Giorgos Kazantzis, says what used to be a 20-year drought cycle has now changed.  

"Unlike in the past, since 2007, these cycles have been occurring almost every two years," he said, adding that "the phenomenon is linked to climate change." Rising global temperatures enhance evaporation, reducing surface water and drying out soils and vegetation, which makes periods with low precipitation drier than they would be in cooler conditions.

Overexploitation of available water resources can also exacerbate drought.

Reservoirs are at their limits

The worsening drought is troubling for a country whose past water supply and irrigation policies have depended heavily on weather conditions. 

Since the 1980s, Cyprus has developed a network of 108 dams and reservoirs to hold water for both drinking and irrigation. But two consecutive years of insufficient rainfall have resulted in critically reduced levels. 

According to current data, they are only 26% full this year, which means they hold just 75 million cubic meters of water. 

"The winter months are essential to replenish the water supplies in the reservoirs, but also the groundwater. Without enough rain in winter, there could be problems in the hot summer," said Micha Werner, associate professor and flood and drought expert at the IHE Delft Institute in the Netherlands. 

In previous years, locals, hotel and guesthouse operators, but also tourists — some 6 million visited the island in 2023 — have been called upon to conserve water. This is likely to be the case again this year.

"A country like Cyprus, like a lot of the Mediterranean, is challenged not just by the variable climate, but also by the variable demand, because you of course have a tourist industry that peaks in the summer and everybody wants to shower and swim in a nice swimming pool. So this compounds the problem."

In addition to scarce water supplies, the recent discovery of a major leak at the Mavrokolympos dam in the west of the island was widely reported to have led to further dwindling of water reserves.  

Most mediterranean countries feel the impacts 

Cyprus is representative of the whole Middle East Mediterranean basin, which includes other countries such as Spain, Italy, Algeria, Morrocco, Tunesia, Turkey and Israel, Werner said. 

With recent drier winters elsewhere too, regions around Valencia in southern Spain, Greece, southern Italy, Morocco and Tunisia are also experiencing alarming droughts, according to data from the EU Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).   

Mobile desalination plants to tackle crisis in Cyprus 

Since the early 2000s, Cyprus has been attempting to address its water shortages, at least for drinking purposes, by building five desalination plants. However, in 2023 desalinated water only met 60% of the country’s drinking water needs.

Expanding desalination capacity is a key priority in a 28-point action plan by the Cypriot government. Speaking to DW, Cyprus' Minister of Agriculture Maria Panayiotou said "the government's goal is to meet the island's total drinking water needs through desalination so that reservoir water can be used exclusively for irrigation."

To achieve this, the minister stated, "the government is planning to create two additional permanent desalination plants, increase the capacity of existing facilities, and introduce mobile desalination units." 

Specifically, four mobile desalination units are set to be constructed within 2025, while the two permanent plants are scheduled for completion within the next five years. Removing salt from sea water is becoming more common in many water-stressed regions of the world, but can pollute underground water, soil and marine wildlife. Experts say, however, that some brine treatment technologies are emerging that could help to tackle these issues.

Panayiotou has acknowledged that Cyprus is facing an exceptionally difficult summer, expressing the government's readiness to provide financial support to farmers either directly or by subsidizing permanent agricultural infrastructure, such as smart irrigation systems that make better use of what water is available.

The government's warning has led Afxentis Kalogirou and many others to refrain from purchasing seeds for crops, which are usually due to be planted in spring.

"More desalination units are the only hope for the future," he said, adding that if something is not done about water scarcity in Cyprus, agriculture will die with his generation. 

Until the new desalination plants are in operation, his hopes are on rain and government support.

Edited by: Tamsin Walker