From dry and cracked reservoirs in Spain to falling water levels in major arteries such as the Danube, Rhine and Po, an unprecedented drought is affecting almost half of Europe. It damages agricultural economies, imposes water restrictions, causes wildfires and threatens aquatic species. There has been no significant rainfall for almost two months in the western, central and southern regions of the continent. In usually rainy Britain, the government officially declared a drought in southern and central England on Friday, amid one of the hottest and driest summers on record. And Europe’s dry spell is expected to continue in what experts say could be the worst drought in 500 years. Climate change is exacerbating conditions as warmer temperatures accelerate evaporation, thirsty plants take up more moisture, and reduced winter snowfall limits supplies of fresh water available for summer irrigation. Europe is not alone in the crisis, as drought conditions were also reported in East Africa, the western United States and northern Mexico. As he walked the 15-meter-wide river bed in Lux, Jean-Philippe Couasné, chief technician at the local Federation for Fisheries and the Protection of the Aquatic Environment, listed the species of fish that had died in the Tille. “It’s heartbreaking,” he said. “On average, about 8,000 liters (2,100 gallons) per second flow. … And now, zero liters.” In upstream areas, some trout and other freshwater species can find refuge in pools via fish ladders. But such systems are not available everywhere. Without rain, the river “will continue to empty. And yes, all the fish will die. … They are trapped upstream and downstream, no water is coming in, so the oxygen level will continue to decrease as the (water) volume drops,” Couasné said. “These are species that will gradually disappear.” Jean-Pierre Sonvico, regional head of the federation, said that diverting fish to other rivers will not help because those waterways are also affected. “Yes, it is dramatic because what can we do? Nothing,” he said. “We’re expecting, hoping for rain storms, but the storms are very localized, so we can’t count on that.” The European Commission’s Joint Research Center warned this week that drought conditions will worsen and potentially affect 47% of the continent. Andrea Toreti, senior researcher at the European Drought Observatory, said the drought in 2018 was so extreme that there had not been similar events in the last 500 years, “but this year, I think, is much worse”. For the next three months, “we still see a very high risk of dry conditions in western and central Europe, as well as the UK,” Toreti said. The current situation is the result of long periods of dry weather caused by changes in global weather systems, said meteorologist Peter Hoffman of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research near Berlin. “It’s just that in the summer we feel it more,” he said. “But actually the drought builds up throughout the year.” Climate change has reduced temperature differences between regions, reducing the forces that drive the jet stream, which normally brings wet Atlantic weather to Europe, he said. A weaker or unstable jet stream can lead to unusually warm air coming into Europe from North Africa, leading to prolonged heatwaves. The reverse is also true, when a polar vortex of cold air from the Arctic can cause freezing conditions far south of where it would normally reach. Hoffman said the observations in recent years were all at the upper end of what existing climate models predicted. The drought has caused some European countries to impose restrictions on water use and shipping is at risk on the Rhine and Danube. The Rhine, Germany’s longest waterway, is forecast to reach extremely low levels in the coming days. Authorities say it could become difficult for many large ships to navigate the river safely in the town of Kaub, about midway between Koblenz and Mainz. “Industries that depend on inland shipping and transport on the Rhine are naturally affected, as there is less transport capacity for raw materials or finished products,” said Bastian Klein of the German Federal Institute of Hydrology. On the Danube, authorities in Serbia began dredging to keep ships moving. In neighboring Hungary, large parts of Lake Velence near Budapest have turned into patches of dried mud, lining small boats. Aeration and water circulation equipment was installed to protect wildlife, but water quality has deteriorated. A swimming ban was imposed at one beach on weekends. The reaches of the Po, Italy’s longest river, are so low that barges and boats that sank decades ago are resurfacing. The drought also affected England, which last month had its driest July since 1935, according to the Met Office. The lack of rain has depleted reservoirs, rivers and groundwater and left grasslands brown and dry. Millions in the UK have already been barred from watering their lawns and gardens under the regional ‘spout bans’ and another 15 million across London will soon face such a ban. The drought is also affecting UK farmers, who are facing a shortage of irrigation water and are forced to use winter fodder for livestock due to a lack of grass. The Rivers Trust charity said England’s chalk streams – which allow underground springs to bubble up through the spongy layer of rock – are drying up, putting aquatic wildlife such as kingfishers and trout at risk. Even countries like Spain and Portugal, accustomed to long periods without rain, have seen significant consequences. In the Spanish region of Andalusia, some avocado farmers had to sacrifice hundreds of trees to save others from wilting as the Vinuela reservoir in Malaga province dropped to just 13% of capacity. Some European farmers use tap water for their animals when lakes and streams dry up, using up to 100 liters (26 gallons) per day per cow. In normally green Burgundy, the source of Paris’ Seine River, the grass has turned yellow-brown and tractors are kicking up giant clouds of dust. Baptiste Colson, who has dairy cows and grows fodder in the village of Moloy, said his animals are suffering, with the quality and quantity of their milk declining. The 31-year-old head of the local Young Farmers union said he was forced to dive into his winter fodder in August. “That’s the biggest concern,” Coulson said. EU corn production is expected to be 12.5 million tonnes lower than last year and sunflower production is forecast to be 1.6 million tonnes lower, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights. Colson expects at least a 30 percent drop in corn yields, a major problem for feeding his cows. “We know we’re going to have to buy feed … so the cows can keep producing milk,” he said. “Economically, the cost will be high.”
Dana Beltaji and Jill Lawless in London, Frank Jordans in Berlin, Barry Hatton in Lisbon, Portugal, Ciarán Giles in Madrid, Dusan Stojanovic in Belgrade, Serbia, and Bela Szandelszky in Budapest, Hungary contributed.
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