Europe is witnessing its worst dry spell in recent times, satellite imagery reveals
India Today
Europe is experiencing its worst drought of the past 500 years, according to the European Commission’s Joint Research Center.
In what could be the biggest warning sign of the climate crisis, Europe may face one of the worst droughts in recent history. Andrea Toreti, senior researcher for the European Commission Joint Research Centre, recently claimed in a news conference that the current drought could be the worst in 500 years, and that it could be even more devastating than the one in 2018.
Compared to last year, more dry conditions are expected in the next three months across Western and Central Europe and the UK. The parching of major water bodies like the Rhine and Loire has drastically hit the European economy, with freight transport through sea routes coming to a halt noticeably across the Scandinavian region. Norway, in such a scenario, has been the most affected, with almost 90 per cent of its electricity transportation dependent on hydropower.
As per the aggregated data from the European Commission’s European Drought Observatory, around 17 per cent of the European landscape is under alert while 47 per cent of the region is experiencing probable drought conditions.
Persistent wildfires across the Bohemian region of Czechia for weeks during July this year has added further to the extended bouts of hot and dry weather within the European Union.
According to media reports, the water level of Italy’s crystal-clear Lake Garda has come down to a 15-year low. The northern part of Italy has been facing its worst dry spell in 70 years, with the last such occurrence only being traced back to the 2007 drought when the levels dropped to 9.9 cm.
High-resolution imagery from Planet Labs of the Rhine river clearly shows the after-effects of drought in actuality.
The climatic conditions in the United Kingdom vary drastically within merely the span of a year as a result of unbearably scorching weather across the region. Thames Water, the popular public utility company, is set to announce a hosepipe ban within the UK from August 24 in an attempt to get through the lack of rainfall and groundwater recharge.
