The meteorological drought and high temperatures are leading municipalities in several Spanish autonomous communities to impose limits on water use in order to resolve the problem of the lack of this much-needed resource. 

And water scarcity isn’t just limited to our country. In 2022 climate change is causing one of the biggest droughts in living memory on the European continent.

However, this phenomenon isn’t just a consequence of climate change. Society is directly and actively involved in droughts. It’s therefore vital to move forward in the exploration of new tools to improve the management of these limited resources.

The need to curb this problem has encouraged experts to seek ways of mitigating it. So can technology help to restrict the droughts that are set to occur in the coming years? Yes. For the time being, the adoption of measures in the water sector will lead to more efficient use of resources.

The use of Artificial Intelligence against drought: examples to follow in 2023

Combating droughts doesn’t depend on one method alone. There are numerous methodologies, including algorithms and neural networks, that can bring numerous benefits to water management. However, Artificial Intelligence seems to be making inroads in the different countries suffering from this problem. And it’s already being tested in some of them.

• China. The Asian giant has decided to use Artificial Intelligence to mitigate the drought affecting the provinces located near the Yangtze River. The emergency has forced the authorities to resort to artificial rain. How do they bring about this phenomenon? The Chinese meteorological authorities attempt to predict the movement of humid air with satellites, aircraft, mobile radar stations and Artificial Intelligence. 

• France. Drought is also proving a problem in the neighbouring country. In this case, Artificial Intelligence has allowed them to act as “water cops”. The French authorities have discovered thousands of non-declared private swimming pools in the country, information obtained by means of an experiment using Artificial Intelligence. 

• Spain. The University of Córdoba is using artificial intelligence and real-time satellite information to improve reservoir management, although the project is still in its test phase. Moreover, the group of experts is investigating snow in Mediterranean regions, with Sierra Nevada as a climate change laboratory. 

• Sahel. In this desert region par excellence, numerous projects have been launched to try to curb this problem. One of them combines high-resolution satellite imagery and data collected by shepherds on the ground to track droughts and provide guidance to the best available pastures in the region.

Smart Water, an intelligent water management solution

With the purpose of managing water intelligently, Telefónica has taken the lead with Telefónica Tech’s Smart Water solution. What does this technology enable companies to do?

• Improve supply management to minimise leakages and align plans for investments in infrastructures.
• Ensure proper water recovery, treatment and use.
• Raise the awareness of consumers by giving them greater control and more information on their water consumption and how to reduce it.

This solution allows the independent installation of different applications designed to improve efficiency throughout the entire water cycle. As you can see, technology can be applied to natural phenomena in a relevant way.

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