Europe could face worst drought in 500 years, warns eminent scientist.
Andrea Toretti, Senior Research Fellow at the European Drought Observatory, said this year's aridity will get worse and will most likely outpace the unprecedented drought of 2018.
The current lack of rainfall in Western and Central Europe will continue for the next three months, he said. , issued when forecasting that drought could affect 47% of the continent.
Scorching temperatures have resulted in plummeting water levels across Europe, prompting some authorities to impose restrictions on water use. In Burgundy, white dust and dead fish line the former channel of the River Tir.
While walking along a 15-meter-wide dried-up riverbed in the French town of Lax, conservationist Jean-Philippe his Quasne reeled in species of fish, including dead trout.
"It's heartbreaking," he said, noting that 8,000 liters of water per second typically flows through the area.
The river "continues to empty" and "all the fish will die," he added. “These are species that are slowly disappearing.”
Dead fish lie on the dry bed of the River Til in Lax, France, 9 August 2022. ing.
(AP)
Jean-Pierre Sonvico, head of the Regional Federation for Fisheries and Aquatic Environment Protection, said fish are
"Yes, it's dramatic. What can we do? Nothing," he said. But storms are so local that they can't be counted on.Peter Hoffmann, a meteorologist at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, says
"You'll only feel it most in the summer."
In addition to threatening aquatic life, low water levels are straining the agricultural and transport sectors.
Europe's maize, sunflower and soybean yields will fall this year, the EU says rain is in short supply.
In Serbia, authorities began deepening the channel of the Danube. 58} aggravated. Forest fire. More than 1,000 firefighters were fighting to contain a "monster" wildfire that ripped through the southwest of France on Thursday for the third day in a row.
Additional reports by AP
