China News Agency, Brussels, July 18 (Reporter De Yongjian) The recent heat wave has further exacerbated the drought in Europe. The drought report released by the European Union on the 18th shows that in July this year, nearly half of the EU and the United Kingdom faced the threat of drought. Italy , France, Spain, Portugal, Romania and other countries have experienced food production problems.
On the same day, the European Commission Joint Research Center released the "July 2022 European Drought Report", pointing out that the current drought situation in most parts of Europe is tight, 44% of the EU and the UK are in a "drought warning" state, and 9% of the territory is in a "drought warning" state. .
The report said that the climate in Europe was abnormal this spring, and a heat wave occurred early in the morning, resulting in less rainfall than in previous years. Affected by this, the water level of rivers in Italy, France, Germany, Hungary, Spain, Portugal and other countries dropped, the water storage capacity was depleted, and the plants were normal. Growth is difficult to ensure due to reduced soil moisture content.
The report pointed out that the harvest cost of cereals and other grain crops in Europe this year is not optimistic. Now, as the drought worsens, the harvest is expected to fall further. Among them, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Romania and other countries need to deal with the problem of grain production. Germany, Poland, Hungary , Slovenia, Croatia and other countries may also be affected by this problem.
At the same time, five regions in northern Italy entered a state of emergency due to drought. The Po River, the main river in the north, reached the highest level of drought, and many cities restricted water use; in Spain and Portugal, the storage capacity of reservoirs and hydropower stations was significantly lower than in previous years. average, and the drought could further fuel the forest fires that are raging in both countries.
The report also pointed out that as of the beginning of July, the drought has led to a decline in the power generation of hydropower stations in many countries, affecting the energy supply of Europe. Among them, the power generation of run-off power plants in Italy, France, Portugal and other countries is lower than the average level of previous years, and the power generation of run-off power stations in Norway, Spain, Romania, Bulgaria, Montenegro, etc. The power generation of the State Reservoir has declined.
As for countermeasures, the report said that while formulating drought strategies, it is necessary to focus on addressing the fundamental problem, that is, dealing with the disturbance and damage of climate change to the earth's hydrological cycle.
In the future, the EU needs to take further measures to prevent and even adapt to the unpredictable climate in advance through strategies such as preventing the impact of climate change on energy supply and promoting sustainable agricultural development.
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