Rabat – “Europe has been experiencing a severe-to-extreme drought since the beginning of 2022,” warns the latest report by the European Commission’s Joint Research Center. The title of the report itself, “Water scarcity in the Netherlands,” highlights the extreme nature of the issue, as traditionally rain-soaked countries such as the Netherlands, the UK, and France face the current stage of our climate crisis.
This weekend, the European Drought Observatory (EDO) warns that 47% of the EU is facing “warning conditions,” indicating there is a “soil moisture deficit.” Meanwhile, 17% of EU territory is in “alert conditions,” according to the EDO, meaning that sustained drought is impacting vegetation, with its severe impact on agriculture.
Read also: Climate Change: June 2022 Was Third Warmest on Record
Droughts across the European continent have resulted in low water levels in rivers, impacting Europe’s busy waterways, used to transport 64 million tonnes of goods each year.
Lower water levels in rivers have presented an opportunity for historians as objects ranging from Nazi warships to stonehenge-like structures in Spain have suddenly emerged.
Industry and agriculture actors in Europe are less excited about the ongoing crisis. Droughts have impacted energy generation, as hydropower and nuclear energy plants rely on a steady supply of water. Farmers across Europe are facing a situation now common to Moroccan farmers, as droughts are bringing down yields, ruining harvests, while forest fires threaten homes and livelihoods.
Europe’s ongoing drought is also likely to further worsen the EU’s cost-of-living crisis. Europeans are already facing record prices for food and energy, yet now water shortages and supply chain issues are set to bring further chaos to a system that has worked for centuries but now faces a rapidly accelerating climate crisis.
