EU
scientists sound alarm over escalating spring drought
Dry
conditions are spreading to virtually every area of the continent.
A lack of
rainfall and warmer than usual weather have dried out soils and sapped rivers
across large stretches of Central and Eastern Europe. |
May 5, 2025
4:49 pm CET
By Zia Weise
BRUSSELS —
The spring drought plaguing Europe since March is worsening and spreading to
more countries, the European Commission's scientific service warned today.
A lack of
rainfall and warmer than usual weather have dried out soils and sapped rivers
across large stretches of Central and Eastern Europe, including the continent's
grain production powerhouses Poland and Ukraine.
Dry
conditions are starting to spread to almost every corner of the continent, with
little relief in sight, the Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) said in a
new report.
"Central,
eastern, and south-eastern Europe, as well as the eastern Mediterranean region,
are experiencing broadening warning drought conditions. Similar conditions are
emerging in north-western Europe," they write. The "warning"
stage is the second of three drought development categories used by the JRC's
European Drought Observatory.
In the EU,
only the Iberian peninsula, southern France and most of Italy have been spared
so far, according to the observatory's latest update. In contrast, parts of
Cyprus, Greece and the Balkans, as well as Turkey, have reached the red
"alert" stage.
Forecasts
for the coming months suggest higher than usual temperatures up to July, the
scientists say. Rainfall predictions are less clear, though some forecasts
point to drier conditions over large parts of northern Europe, including the
United Kingdom, parts of Germany and the Benelux countries, the JRC report
notes.
While other
factors such as water mismanagement contribute to dry conditions, droughts are
predicted to become more frequent and intense in Europe as a result of climate
change.
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