Almost two-thirds of Europe is facing drought or at risk of drought

Almost two-thirds of Europe is under drought alert or warnings due to heat waves and low rainfall, which has limited river and lake navigation, power generation and some crop yields, a service of the European Union.

The August report by the European Drought Observatory (EDO), which is overseen by the European Commission, states that 47% of Europe is in drought warning conditions, with very low soil moisture, and 17% is on alert, in which vegetation is destroyed.

“Severe drought has been affecting many regions of Europe since the beginning of the year and has been expanding and worsening since early August,” the report said.

Summer crops have been hit, with 2022 maize yields expected to be 16% below the five-year average, while soybean and sunflower yields are expected to decline by 15% and 12% respectively.

Hydropower generation has also been affected, with further impact on power producers due to a lack of water to feed cooling systems.

Low water levels impede navigation on rivers and lakes, such as along the Rhine, and reduced ship loads affect the transport of coal and oil.

The EDO reports that in mid-August rains eased the situation somewhat, but in some cases came in the form of storms which caused further damage.

The observatory’s drought index is derived from measurements of precipitation, soil moisture, and the fraction of solar radiation absorbed by plants for photosynthesis.

RES-EMP

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