Paris (France) (AFP) – Despite the return of rains, sometimes intense, in October, the drought persists in France, with a “very worrying” situation for groundwater, and still very degraded for watercourses and soils.

Published on: 09/11/2026 - 17:10

“Although there has been a return of rain in the territory for the month of October, the water table situation remains mostly degraded (...) with the exception of the south and the southeast,” indicates the Bureau of Geological and Mining Research (BRGM), the national geological service, in its monthly bulletin.

As of November 1, 64% of water table observation points were below normal, compared to 66% a month earlier. The BRGM considers the situation still “very worrying” in “many sectors of the territory where the usual trend at this period is the start of recharging”.

However, after several months marked by significant rain deficits, October recorded rainfall "in line with normal", according to Météo-France. Several Mediterranean episodes even brought intense rains to the south of the country.

But recharging has only started at 27% of observation points, while 55% continue to record a drop in their level.

Furthermore, the BRGM reports that these intense rains have "not always been effective in infiltrating deeply and recharging the water tables", sometimes only running off the surface.

an uncertain winter

The current situation is much more degraded than last year at the same time, when only 32% of the water tables were below normal.

As of November 1, the level of groundwater, the main reserves of drinking water in France, was notably "very low for the aquifers of the Breton base, Limousin, Champagne chalk, Jura limestone, Vosges sandstone and Triassic limestone of Lorraine", reports the BRGM.

“We are on the verge of breaking” in water, warned the mayor (DVD) of Brest Stéphane Roudaut.

For the coming weeks and months, BRGM emphasizes that forecasts remain largely uncertain.

Any improvement in levels “will depend on the return of precipitation”. Although this could take place in November, "uncertainties exist concerning the distribution and effectiveness" of the rains and, consequently, of the recharge.

And for inertial layers, which take months to react to rain, "they will continue to have a downward trend until the end of autumn", rain or not, indicates the BRGM, which signals "particular attention" to the layer of Triassic sandstone and limestone of the Vosges at the level is already worrying.

dry soils and rivers

Autumn and winter are essential periods for groundwater recharge. The dormancy of vegetation, which reduces water withdrawal by plants and evapotranspiration, then promotes the infiltration of rain into the soil and its transfer to groundwater.

But in a context of global warming, the conditions favorable to this recharge are weakened: higher temperatures and insufficient autumn and winter precipitation can limit the reconstitution of reserves, increasing the risk of droughts and tensions on water in the following spring and summer, as we observed this summer.

Concerning watercourses, the "level of degradation (...) remains high" and "worrying", also indicates Monday the ONDE network set up by the French Biodiversity Office (OFB).

At the end of October, 880 rivers still had flow interruptions or dried up. This is certainly an improvement compared to the peak at the end of September (28% at the end of October compared to 49.6% at the end of September), but the number of stations affected "exceeds that at the end of August 2018 (765)", despite the autumn being well advanced, underlines the OFB.

The most affected sectors extend along an axis going from Charente-Maritime to the Grand Est. Other outbreaks persist in the south of Brittany and the south-west of Occitanie.

Finally, regarding the dryness of the soil, which particularly impacts agricultural crops, Météo-France indicated on Thursday that, despite the precipitation, the soil remained "much drier than normal, with humidity levels lower than those observed in the middle of summer".

© 2026 AFP

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