Climate change now the bitter fruit of sweltering heat and drought hitting Europe
◎Li Hongce, our correspondent in France
【Today's Viewpoint】
The continent has been facing an unusually severe drought for several weeks.
Water scarcity, the bitter fruit of climate change, has endangered Europe's agriculture, tourism and biodiversity, with negative consequences for food, energy and industrial production.
Many countries face drought crisis
Italy is dealing with the worst drought in 70 years. The Italian government declared a state of emergency in five northern regions on July 4 and announced the release of an emergency fund of 36.5 million euros.
The flow of the Po River, the main river in northern Italy, has dropped by as much as 72%, and 90% of the land in Tuscany is experiencing extreme drought.
More than 200 municipalities in Italy have passed ordinances imposing strict restrictions on water use.
Fountains in many towns have been shut down, washing cars, watering vegetable fields and gardens banned, and drinking water supplies suspended at night.
Rainfall in France this spring was 45% lower than normal.
Nine percent of France's rivers dried up in June, compared with 2 percent a year earlier, according to the French National Observatory for Low Water Levels.
The French Public Water Information Service said May was "the driest month in France since 1959".
At the same time, May also broke France's high temperature record, with an average temperature nearly 1°C higher than the same period in 2021.
Spain also experienced unusually high temperatures, entering summer with the country's reservoirs at just 46% capacity, 20% below the average of the past decade.
Three-quarters of the territory of the Iberian Peninsula is in arid regions and is especially threatened by desertification.
consequences of global warming
Florence Daniel-Paskill, an expert on water and drought issues at the French Natural Environment Association, told the media that the reason for the drought in many parts of Europe was that groundwater was seriously insufficient in the dry winter this year, followed by high temperatures in spring. Exacerbated soil drying.
Continuing to investigate deeper reasons, global warming is undoubtedly the "root cause" of widespread drought in Europe.
Paskill said a warmer climate led to an increase in water evaporation, which meant groundwater infiltration and less surface moisture.
According to the French Ministry of Ecological Transition, the evaporation of surface water is increasing in most parts of France, and the amount of evaporation has increased by 3% compared with 1999. The presence of this water vapor in the atmosphere will further increase the greenhouse effect.
On the other hand, precipitation is also declining.
A recent study by the French Ministry of Ecological Transition showed that compared with 2002, precipitation in France has dropped by an average of 6%.
Under the combined effect, compared with 1990-2001, the decline of French indigenous water resources between 2002 and 2018 reached 14%.
Europe faces multiple shocks
The effects of the drought are multiple, with agriculture bearing the brunt of it.
Drought in Italy has led to a dramatic reduction in river flow, so that seawater is getting deeper inland and damaging farmland, which is drying up in several other regions.
Italy's largest agricultural union recently assessed that more than 30% of Italy's agricultural production is at risk this year, with losses exceeding 2 billion euros.
In Germany, the president of the Farmers' Federation, Joachim Ruckwied, said at the end of June that a prolonged drought and high temperatures had taken a heavy toll on German crops, yield forecasts were again below multi-year averages, and the cereal harvest would be 3 percent lower than last year.
A 2021 study published in the scientific journal Environmental Research Letters shows that the severity of the impact of droughts and heat waves on agricultural production has roughly tripled over the past 50 years.
The European Commission predicts that drought damage to European agriculture could reach 65 billion euros in 2100, up from 9 billion euros today.
Water scarcity also has a negative impact on tourism.
According to a study by the University of the Balearic Islands in Spain, by comparing water consumption during normal times and during the new crown epidemic, it is estimated that water consumption in tourism activities accounts for 25% of Spain's water consumption, and even 50% in some islands.
After two consecutive years of slump, European tourism is looking forward to a full recovery this summer.
Spain, with a population of 47 million, will be under water stress from 83 million tourists in exceptionally water-scarce conditions.
The drought has also hit industry.
Most of France's nuclear power plants are built inland on the banks of the river and use river water for cooling. The unusually high temperature and dryness this summer will likely force nuclear power plants to shut down in order to comply with temperature standards and avoid overheating of river water.
With France facing a power shortage this winter due to a lack of natural gas, the new production cuts could further increase tensions over the country's power shortage.
In Germany, there has also been a water conflict between residents and industry, with residents of Grunheide in Brandenburg opposed to the Tesla factory expansion because industrial water demand could threaten local residents' water use.
A spokesman for the German Environment Ministry said that in the future there will be more groups of water users than there are now, competing for increasingly scarce water resources, which is why it is necessary to consider the issue of equitable distribution in the event of prolonged drought.
In addition, the drought has further increased the risk of wildfires.
Chinotti, an expert on vegetation fires at Meteo-France, said a high risk of forest fires is expected due to a hotter and drier summer this year.
To make matters worse, forest fires becoming more frequent will be a long-term trend.
By the end of the century, French rainless periods in summer will increase by 30% to 50%, according to weather forecasts by Meteo-France, leading to a longer fire season that will involve a larger area of territory, including agricultural land.