Swedish authorities on Friday urged businesses and 1.5 million residents in greater Stockholm to cut back on tap water for the next few weeks as unusually warm freshwater temperatures have led to a supply issue.
Stockholm's municipal water authority Vatten och Avfall said higher temperatures in Lake Malaren, where the capital gets its drinking water, affect the treatment process and meant the city's waterworks were currently unable to maintain normal drinking water levels.
"The unusually warm water temperature in Lake Malaren negatively affects the waterworks, and less drinking water can be produced. To ensure the water is sufficient, all residents and businesses are urged to cut back on water," it said in a statement.
Such warnings are rare in Stockholm, although other parts of the country, in particular the Baltic Sea island of Gotland, occasionally have problems with water supply.
"This weekend and next week, many Stockholmers are expected to return home from vacation ahead of work and the start of school. We know from previous years that a lot of extra tap water is used during this period," Stockholm Vatten och Avfall said.
As a result, it urged residents to not to water lawns, fill swimming pools, wash their cars or let the tap run unnecessarily, and to only run washing machines and dishwashers with full loads and to take short showers instead of baths.
Normally known for its cooler climate, Sweden has been gripped by unusually warm weather in the past month, including a two-week heatwave in the second half of July when temperatures hovered around 30C.
Researchers said Thursday in a report published by the World Weather Attribution that human-caused climate change made the heatwave, which also affected Norway and Finland, about 2C hotter.
