Drought and floods continue to kill Europe: crops are destroyed, tourists leave

Sinking cities

At the same time, several European countries were hit by powerful downpours. Thus, alarming reports of severe thunderstorms and hurricane-force winds came from Italy and France. The wind was so strong that it easily uprooted trees from the ground and even tore off fragments of brick from the bell tower of St. Mark’s Cathedral in Venice. Authorities said more than 100 boats in the Mediterranean called for emergency assistance due to the storm.

According to the national meteorological agency Meteo France, the storm caused wind gusts of more than 220 km/h in some areas. About 450 thousand households in Corsica, where 6 people died, were left without electricity.

The Italian regions of Tuscany and Veneto even declared a state of emergency, as severe storms in the north of the country contrasted with abnormally high temperatures in the south (the mark reached +43 degrees Celsius).

Terrifying footage of flying chairs across Piazza San Marco is intertwined with equally terrifying reports of deaths. Teenagers, elderly people, fishermen died in different places. All of them became victims of a sudden storm.

The anomaly did not bypass Austria, where 5 people died, among whom were two girls 4 and 8 years old. The reason is the same: a sudden strong wind.

The mayor of the city of Wolfsberg, Hannes Primus, even claims that the affected area looked “like a battlefield.”

Against the backdrop of French Marseilles going under water due to showers, where metro stations and the Old Port were flooded, Germany has already announced that heavy rains are expected in the southern regions on Friday. Aviation rescue services are on high alert.

Bad weather destroys the crops, the beaches are empty

This summer for Europe can truly be called lean. But if in July it was high temperatures that destroyed the crops, actually burning them, then August brought a surprise in the form of hail.

Heavy rains in recent days that have caused hail, hurricanes and floods have damaged or destroyed entire fruit and vegetable crops, as well as vineyards and olive groves, according to the Italian agricultural lobby Coldiretti.

The region of Liguria was also affected, where hail caused damage to gardens and orchards, and also broke windows in the houses of local residents.

Security measures have to be taken during the busiest week of a beach holiday. The mayor of the small resort town of Sestri Levante, Valentina Gio, urged vacationers to stay away from the beaches until the weather improves.

The heat has not receded, Hungary may be left without drinking water

Despite the fluctuations in the weather towards cooler conditions in some regions of Europe, no one undertakes to talk about the end of the heat and the retreat of the drought. Some states still remain under the rule of a deadly hot front.

The fields of southern Hungary continue to crack due to lack of water. And it is unlikely that conditions will change soon. The Associated Press reports the story of a Hungarian shepherd who is forced to graze sheep in dried-up fields. When he walks, the grass, covered with a dense layer of dust and sand, literally crunches underfoot.

“In this heat, the clay soil literally burns the legs of the sheep, it is so hot. I am 57 years old, I have never seen such a severe drought, ”the farmer shares with the publication.

This is confirmed by the official data of the meteorological service of Hungary. This year marks the worst rainfall since 1901.

The water level in the Danube River, one of the largest waterways in Europe, has fallen near Budapest by one and a half meters in three weeks. In this regard, the regional water company warned that the supply of drinking water could be at risk.

Klara Kerpely, a member of the WWF Hungarian environmental group, also does not hope for a reassuring forecast, arguing that “forecasts and climate models suggest that further severe droughts are likely.” She also alerted local authorities to overhaul Hungary’s water retention system.

But not everyone is unequivocally sad because of the lack of rainfall. In Spain, despite serious crop problems due to drought in many rural areas, “thanks to” a 72% decrease in the water level in the Valdecanas reservoir, the “Spanish Stonehenge” has revived. Archaeologists are in high spirits. Dolmen Guadalperal dates back to 5000 BC. Archaeologists say that this is a rare opportunity to gain access to a dolmen, and now is the best time to study it and even possibly move it to another place. The opportunity is still there, the drought is not losing ground.

But farmers do not feel great joy for any reason. For some, the harvest of sweet pepper was completely destroyed, for some there was nothing to water the cattle with.

A study published in the journal Nature Geoscience found that climate change has caused the Iberian Peninsula to become the driest in the last 1,200 years. Rainfall is expected to continue to decrease in the future.

Some experts admit that the drought could lead to a rise in the cost of living in European countries. The European Commission even came to the conclusion that the key method of solving the problem of water shortages could be its reuse from wastewater treatment plants.

The European economy is on the verge of a major crisis

The news that the water in the Rhine had reached a critically low level horrified all Europeans. The shipping company, which has been carrying cargo along this water route for many years, said this week that its business is under threat.

Of the approximately 150 barges, no more than 10% will be able to carry cargo through the key Kaub waypoint. A further drop in the water level at a point south of Cologne could completely disable the activities of the shipping company. Close attention is riveted to Kaub due to the fact that barges pass through this route, following in parts of southern Germany and Switzerland.

There were forecasts that claimed that the water level at a key point on the Rhine would rise as early as this weekend. According to the German government, the mark in Kaub will reach 41 centimeters on Saturday morning, and early on Sunday morning the level will already reach 49 centimeters. However, it is too early to talk about the unhindered passage of goods. There will still be a limit on the number of passing cargo ships.

Recall that the Rhine is used to transport millions of tons of fuel and other vital goods through inner Europe. With this in mind and in view of the new difficulties, the German government is now moving towards the long-discussed question of deepening the Rhine at strategic points.

The authorities of Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia came to a similar decision. Having fixed a dangerously low water level in some sections of the Danube River, it was decided to deepen its bottom.

Residents of Bulgaria also note that they have not seen rain for several months. People living in the sea areas of the country admit that the proximity to the sea somewhat alleviates the situation, but the anxiety is still present.

Any security is at risk

The anomalous vagaries of the weather have hit many areas of the European continent hard. It is not only the economy that is suffering from the effects of drought and record high temperatures. Under the threat and energy, as well as the food sector. And, judging by the new “abnormalities” of the raging weather, the problems will only get worse.

Previously, experts have already noted the negative impact of drought on these areas. According to official data, the production of hydroelectric power in Western Europe in the second quarter of 2022 decreased by 20% compared to the annual average. The operation of the cooling system of nuclear power plants is disrupted, which provokes the use of natural gas. And this, in modern European times, is a rather painful topic.

The destruction of the crop, the pestilence of fish in various waterways leads to a severe food crisis. In July, the Joint Research Center of the European Commission warned of a decrease in yields, and also predicted a fall in the harvest of corn, sunflower and soybeans by 8-9%. A decline in the production of olive oil and wine is as inevitable as a decline in agricultural and livestock production.

And if earlier only heat and drought were the culprit of all problems, now Europe blames storms and downpours. And there is no end in sight yet.

According to media reports, extreme weather events, including heatwaves and storms, have become more intense and frequent in recent years due to anthropogenic climate change. Temperatures will continue to rise unless emissions are reduced.