The Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis chaired a preparatory meeting of officials on Friday to decide on measures against the looming water shortage in the Athens metropolitan area.
Scientists have been warning of rapidly shrinking water supplies for over a year, but the latest satellite images of Lake Mornos, the primary source of water of Athens, have been most revealing of the extent of the problem.
Matched with official hydrometric data, they bear proof of the dramatic decline in the size of the artificial reservoir, which is attributed to prolonged high temperatures and a decrease in annual rainfall.
Athens’ primary source of water loses half its volume
While several areas of Greece, including some of its islands, are facing water shortages, the situation is most alarming in Athens and Piraeus, experts warn.
Between January 2022 and October 2025, in a span of less than four years, Lake Mornos lost nearly half of its total water volume, its surface water extent having dropped from approximately 19.1 square kilometers (about 7.4 sq mi) to 8.7 (3.3 sq mi).
Besides the shrinking surface, the volume of the water reserves fell from 328 million cubic meters in September 2024 to 193 million cubic meters in September 2025. In response to the constantly deteriorating situation, the National Observatory of Athens’ weather unit METEO launched a new public information service, the Mornos Reservoir Observatory to monitor developments, last month.
The depletion of Mornos places immense pressure on Athens’ other water sources, such as Lake Yliki and Lake Marathon, as well as to local ecosystems and their fragile biodiversity.
Measures against water shortage
The meeting chaired by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Friday shows that water shortage concerns for the Athens metropolitan area has reached top level. According to AMNA, the officials discussed a range of initiatives to address the threat of water shortage, based on the latest hydrological data.
While no announcements were made at this stage, imminent measures are expected to follow in the coming weeks, which could include not only the capital but also the Thessaloniki metropolitan area and those islands where water shortages are becoming all the more concerning.
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