Spain’s Yesa reservoir severely affected by extreme drought

The Yesa reservoir, situated in the Pyrenees mountain range in Spain, is a source of drinking water for tens of thousands of people living in the Navarra and Aragón autonomous regions. After a very dry summer, in which several heatwaves with record-breaking temperatures hit Western Europe, Spain remains gripped by an extreme drought. The Yesa reservoir is currently at 16% of its capacity, the lowest level recorded at this time of the year since 1980.

The striking difference in water levels is visible in these images, acquired on 2 July 2022 (above) and 20 September 2022 (below) by Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites.

Open data retrieved by the Copernicus Sentinel satellites provide key information useful to accurately map water bodies and extract critical information during periods of drought.