We Brits have a penchant for discussing the weather, especially the rain. It is a bit of a national obsession, I know. From ‘turned out nice again’ to ‘lovely weather’, as greetings, to expressions which are based on weather, such as ‘break the ice’ or ‘it never rains but it pours’, we have the weather running through us, as a stick of rock has ‘Blackpool’ running through it.
We are the world’s ‘weather bores’.
Currently, however, it is a hot topic here in Portugal, too, and of course the British are perceived as experts.
We are so used to discussing the weather that we are seen as gurus in the meteorological stakes. The reason?
There is a bit of a problem, water-wise, at the moment. We are suffering a drought. As a consequence, there is much talk of rain ... there has been, rain we need and rain we don’t currently have.
Water levels in lakes and reservoirs are unprecedentedly low and there are reports of boreholes and water mines and wells drying up.
As a slight aside, allow me to expand on what a water mine is, as it is an expression which is little known outside this part of the world, I believe.
It is, quite literally, a mine for water.
A hole is dug at a certain point into, typically sandstone, and water seeps out.
These holes can be large and a person can walk into the hillside, or they can be little more than a deep scrape.
They are not wells, which are dug vertically, of course, until the water level is reached, but rather, a sort of horizontal well; in some respects, they resemble qanats, which are, of course, a middle-eastern version.
Nevertheless, the sources of water are failing, it seems.
Aquifers are no longer providing the water which many rely on. We have a borehole, or furo, which is 80 metres deep and provides excellent water.
Our neighbours’ furo dried up just the other day and we are living in a state of slight concern, as we expect any day the tap to dribble more slowly.
We do have a mains water connection, too, so we have ‘back-up’, but many in the village do not and it is serious.
In some parts of Portugal, there have been restrictions imposed on water usage. This has a clear ‘knock-on’ effect on agriculture and, of course, later, on food supplies and prices. As I say, it is a serious issue.
The drought has been with us since the end of June and, with the long-term forecast predicting little prospect of rain in the next three months, it looks set to remain.
There is no solution, other than to use less. It focuses the mind on what is important.
Do we water the plants? Do we water the vegetables?
What is more important, a pretty bougainvillea or a tomato or the onions?
Do we turn off the pool top-up system? Do we want to swim or drink?
If I’m honest, I want it all, and that’s the problem.