Prolonged hot and dry weather forces EU nations to deal with shriveling harvests, decreased energy production, and emergency water handouts, precisely as the conflict in Ukraine causes food and energy costs to soar.
The European Commission has stated that about half of the geographical area of the European Union is currently under a drought warning or a more severe “alert” category, impeding agriculture, energy production, and water supply.
From France in the west to Romania in the east, as well as western Germany and southern Greece, a “wide and persistent” lack of rain, combined with heatwaves, is worsening drought in an alarmingly long list of countries.
During the ten days preceding up to July 20, 45 percent of the European Union’s territory was under “warning” conditions, the second of three drought classifications, according to new statistics from the European Drought Observatory (EDO).
In the meantime, 15 percent of the land has shifted into the most severe “alert” stage, which indicates that not only is land drying out following insufficient precipitation, but plants and crops are also suffering.
In the previous ten-day period, 46 percent of the land was classified as “warning” level with dry soil, while 13 percent was classified as “alert” territory.
EDO warned in July that forecasts of continued dry weather for numerous nations in August and September “add concerns to the already highly severe situation and, if verified, will worsen drought severity and its effects on agriculture, energy, and water supply.
The worst drought in France’s recorded history has left villages without safe drinking water, producers warning of a winter milk scarcity, and corn harvests on track to be 18.5% lower than the previous year.
The office of Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne established a crisis squad on Friday, as the nation prepared for its fourth heatwave of the summer.
“Widespread stress on vegetation” has struck the Italian lowlands, much of France, middle Germany, eastern Hungary, Portugal, and northern Spain, according to the EDO, just as Europeans contend with increasing food prices due to the conflict in Ukraine.
Farmers in Tuscany, the center of Italy’s esteemed wine and olive oil industries, are fighting to save as much of this year’s harvest as possible from drought and scorching.
Professor David Hill, a former vice-chair of Natural England, asserts that intensive farming practices have exacerbated droughts by reducing the soil’s ability to absorb water, leaving it more susceptible to drying out or being washed away.
“Where agricultural intensification occurs on a wide scale, you end up with simplistic ecosystems that cannot take the shock,” he told Sky News. Massive farms are far less resistant to environmental change than a mosaic of diverse varieties.
Energy production peaked in
Russia’s most recent invasion of its neighbor and disruption of the European gas supply caused energy costs to skyrocket and prompted countries to pursue domestic energy production.
In some regions, however, low river levels and higher water temperatures have also hindered energy production.
Italy’s hydropower production has decreased as a result of water shortages, with energy potential stored in water reserves remaining at roughly half the level of the previous decade. In nine nations, including Serbia, Montenegro, and Norway, hydropower reservoir water levels have decreased.
Half of EDF’s 56 reactors are currently offline owing to maintenance or corrosion issues.
Parched Currently, Spain has “very favorable” conditions for wildfires, while the majority of Portugal faces a high-to-extreme risk of forest fires.
Climate change is increasing the severity and likelihood of drought in the Mediterranean, although it does not cause all droughts.
Drought has multiple causes, but climate change influences it in two significant ways. It condenses precipitation into shorter, more powerful bursts, making it more difficult to retain.
Hotter temperatures evaporate more water, and heatwaves, which are “unilaterally” related to global warming, increase demand as people seek to cool off.
