Worst seasonal water scarcity conditions for European countries in 2023, measured by the water exploitation index plus (WEI+)

The graph presents the share of the land area and population in the European Union affected by water scarcity conditions between 2000-2023. Water scarcity conditions are considered to apply when water exploitation index plus (WEI+) values are above 20% for at least a quarter of the year in a given river sub-basin; annual quarters are: Q1 (January-March), Q2 (April-June), Q3 (July-September), Q4 (October-December).

The WEI+ for Switzerland and France may involve high uncertainties due to the use of modelled data as the baseline for the computation.

The WEI+ for Bosnia and Herzegovina refers to 2022, due to a lack of more recent data.

The WEI+ for Kosovo (UNSCR 1244) could not be computed because of missing information on reservoir water balance and the complex hydrological relationships between inflows and outflows.