Wednesday 17 May 2023

A fifth of Europe is now under drought warning

Southern Europe is set to be hit heavily with drought, with 22% of the overall continent under warning.

That’s according to research by scientists, revealing that climate change is leading to depleted groundwater reserves.

Farmers are expecting to have one of their worst harvests for years, with Spain and Southern France tipped to be under huge threat from the weather.

In preparing for the drought, climate scientist at the Pierre-Simon Laplace Institute, Robert Vautard, said: “Governments are late. Companies are late. Some companies are not even thinking of changing the model of their consumption, they are just trying to find some miraculous technologies that would bring water.”

France is coming out of its driest winter in 65 years, with Spanish farmers already revealing yield losses of up to 80%.

Spanish Agriculture Minister Luis Planas said: “The situation resulting from this drought is of such magnitude that its consequences cannot be tackled with national funds alone.”

“This is the worst loss of harvest for decades. It's worse than last year's situation,” Head of farming group Copa-Cogeca, Pekka Pesonen added.

Portugal and Italy are also expecting to be hit hard by droughts this year.

Climate change combined with the expected start of an El Niño period are expected to bring record temperatures again, the Met Office recently revealed.