Drought hits southern Europe: it threatens the countryside, the water supply and requires measures

Europe has experienced one of the driest and hottest winters in recent decades, after records for lack of rain and excess heat were broken in 2022, a combination that puts half the continent at risk, exacerbating a drought that will field could extend to human supply and that has forced governments to take urgent measures.

According to the annual report of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, temperatures in Europe have increased twice the world average and faster than in any other continent, and it also rains less, especially in the south of the Old Continent, which produces substantial anomalies in soil moisture, and this especially affects agriculture and livestock.

One of the most affected countries is Spain, where an extraordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers was held this Thursday to approve a package of measures worth 2,190 million euros to alleviate the effects of the drought on agriculture and water.

The economic impact of the ten measures adopted for the agricultural field amounts to 784 million euros in a scenario in which the prolonged lack of rain has caused the reservoirs to be at 48.9%, after five consecutive weeks in which it has dropped the water reserve.

France and Italy, affected by the drought

France is also one of the countries most affected by the drought, especially in the south and east, which adds to the one that already occurred last year, with a general lack of rainfall in the country. The rains that have reached part of France in the first days of May are not enough for now, since 75% of the country's water tables are below their normal level.. Agriculture and livestock have warned that 2023 will be a “black year” for food production.

Given this scenario, farmers will have to reduce water consumption by 50% in general, although the reduction will be 25% for some particularly sensitive crops or for those that use irrigation systems that save resources, such as the one that works by drip.

Italy is also experiencing a worrying drought that is particularly affecting the valley of its main river, the Po, which runs through the entire north of the country from the Alps to flow into the Adriatic Sea.. Last summer it suffered a lack of water unprecedented in 70 years. So far this year, 6.3% of the national territory has been hit by a drought described as “severe-extreme”, according to the National Center for Research (CNR), although the rainfall in late April and early May has eased the situation.

Against this background, the Government of Italy, led by Giorgia Meloni, among other actions, has set up an entity to monitor the hydrological crisis and at its first meeting last Friday the disbursement of 102 million euros was approved to take “urgent” measures in the regions of Lombardy, Piedmont, Veneto, Emilia Romagna (north) and Lazio (centre).

Portugal and Türkiye also suffer

They are no better off in Portugal, where the drought is already affecting 89% of its territory, especially the southern region and the moderate northeast of the country, after the situation worsened during the month of April due to low rainfall and high temperatures, according to a report released this week by the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Portuguese Atmosphere.

Also in Türkiye this winter has been low rainfall. The reservoirs of Istanbul mark as of today a level of 50% of their capacity, the lowest level for these dates since 2014, since normally in this month it tends to oscillate between 70 and 90%.