Severe drought in China and Europe hits energy and entire economy

“We are in a moment when the seemingly endless abundance of goods and technology, land and water, is coming to an end,” French President Emmanuel Macron said on August 24 ahead of the first government meeting after the holidays. All these are the consequences of the pandemic, the conflict in Ukraine and global climate change, which have recently become especially noticeable, Macron explained.

According to the EU Joint Research Center for August, Europe is experiencing the worst drought in the last 500 years. 47% of Europe suffers from moisture deficiency. Due to weather conditions, the production of hydroelectric power has decreased. The water level in the middle reaches of the Rhine last week fell to 30 cm, which significantly worsened navigation – and this made it difficult to transport coal for power plants and other energy resources. HPP production in Europe in July 2022 decreased year-on-year by 25% (to 28.9 TWh), according to research center Ember. The similar generation of nuclear power plants in the EU is by 23% (up to 43.8 TWh), says Kirill Rodionov, an expert at the Institute for the Development of Fuel and Energy Complex Technologies. At the same time, according to Ember, the growth in energy generation at solar and wind power plants in July this year compared to July last amounted to 9.28 TWh, which did not compensate for the decline in generation.