Thessaly, Greece faces severe water shortage and ecological damage

Scientists say the water situation in Thessaly has become an ecological disaster as permanent water reserves are exhausted. Professor Nikitas Myllopoulos of the University of Thessaly explains that the region’s water balance is persistently negative, with annual extraction exceeding natural inflow, causing surface and groundwater levels to fall sharply—groundwater depths reaching up to 200 m in some wells.

The shortage also degrades water quality, with higher concentrations of pollutants from intensive agriculture. Climate change and over‑irrigation worsen the problem. Researchers call for a “total reversal” of water policy, including neglected water‑collection projects, new conveyance networks, collective irrigation systems and modern water‑saving irrigation techniques, as well as broader redesign of crop planning to match the basin’s water capacity.

Without decisive intervention, the drought will intensify, threatening agriculture, the economy and local communities throughout the Thessalian plains and the Piwnios and Kardas river basins.