Spain's government has approved a €2.2bn (£1.9bn) plan to help farmers and consumers cope with the ongoing drought, made worse by the warmest and the driest April on record . The measures, which the government described as unprecedented, signed by the cabinet on Thursday. They include €1.4 billion from the Environment Ministry to fight drought and increase water availability, and €784 million from the Agriculture Ministry to help farmers maintain production and avoid food shortages. The plan came a day after the Socialist-led coalition government announced legislation that will mean outdoor workers such as waste collectors, street sweepers and builders will not have to work when Spain's meteorological office issues high temperature warnings. This step follows after death of a street sweeper and a leaflet delivery man during last July's heat wave in the Madrid region. Spanish Environment Minister Teresa Ribera said her department would spend 1.4 billion euros to build new infrastructure, such as desalination plants; on doubling the share of water that is reused in urban areas from 10 % to 20 % by 2027; and on subsidizing those whose water supplies for irrigation would be reduced. She said: “Spain is a country that is used to dry periods, but there is no doubt that due to the climate change we are experiencing, we are seeing much more frequent and intense events and phenomena. ( Sam Jones)