Nine of the ten Demand Units improved their reserves, but there are still no changes in the scenario, as these require sustained trends over several months.
November was marked by an improvement in the water situation in the Balearic Islands, with a significant increase in reserves, which reached 54%. This value represents a notable recovery with respect to October, when reserves stood at 46%, and equals the level recorded during the same period last year. This positive trend reflects the impact of weather conditions and the favourable evolution of rainfall over a large part of the territory.
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Water reserves in the Balearic Islands rose 8 points in November to 54%
During this month, most of the Demand Units (DU) have experienced increases in their reserves. Nine of the ten DUs have recorded significant improvements, especially in Tramuntana Sur, Tramuntana Norte, Formentera, Artà, es Pla, Palma-Alcúdia and Eivissa. These improvements have meant that 31.1% of the territory – specifically the UD Migjorn, Tramuntana Norte and Tramuntana Sur – are now in a normal situation, while the remaining 68.9% (Menorca, Artà, Manacor-Felanitx, es Pla, Palma-Alcúdia, Eivissa and Formentera) remain in a pre-alert situation. Moreover, there is no longer any territory on alert, which underlines the general improvement in water conditions.
Despite this positive context, there have not yet been any changes of the scenario in the DU. This is due to the water resource management methodology, which requires sustained stability over several months to change the status of a DU. Thus, Artà, es Pla and Formentera remain in the alert scenario, while the rest of the DU remains in pre-alert, despite the occasional increases observed this month. The changes of the scenario are defined according to a system that ensures that the changes do not occur precipitously.
Mallorca has registered a notable increase in its reserves, rising from 47% to 56%, while Menorca has also experienced a rise, reaching 48% compared to 45% the previous month. In the Pitiusas, Eivissa has increased its bookings to 37%, up from 32% in October. Despite these advances, the Pitiusas continue to be the area with the lowest percentages of reserves, standing out as the most vulnerable within the archipelago as a whole.
In terms of rainfall, the data provided by the AEMET indicate that November has been, in general, a normal month in the Balearic Islands, with an average of 83.7 l/m², very similar to the usual 84.7 l/m². However, the impact has been different depending on the island. Mallorca has recorded values within normality, with 92.5 l/m² compared to the 87.2 l/m² expected, while Menorca has had a dry month, with only 43.3 l/m², clearly below the 89.7 l/m² typical for this time of year. Eivissa and Formentera, meanwhile, have performed normally, with records of 77.9 l/m² and 43.6 l/m², respectively, compared to historical average values of 67.2 l/m² and 53.1 l/m².
The Balearic Islands are at 98% of their historical average in terms of cumulative annual rainfall. Mallorca leads this recovery with 100% of the annual average, followed by Menorca, which stands at 99%. The Pitiusas Islands, on the other hand, remain below, 80%, which confirms their situation of greater water vulnerability.
Regarding temperatures, November was exceptionally warm, with an average of 16.7 ºC and an anomaly of +2.3 ºC concerning the usual values. This thermal anomaly highlights the persistence of abnormal weather conditions, with temperatures notably higher than expected at this time of year.