We arid climate types like to think we own water problems, but a new EU report serves as a reminder that they’re universal. People build their infrastructure and societal systems around the water they’ve got and then bump up against limits. From EurActive:

The report shows that some member states have begun to suffer “permanent scarcity across the whole country”. While the pressure point is currently in the south, with Cyprus experiencing the severest water shortages, the Commission expects water stress to spread to South-East and Central Europe….

According to the progress paper, the problem is not limited to Mediterranean countries. The Czech Republic has reported areas with frequent water scarcity, and France and Belgium have reported over-exploited aquifers, it notes.