'If you see me, cry'
Reference News Network reported on August 16 that the ensuing climate troubles plagued Europe.
The so-called "starvation stone" appeared at the bottom of the dry river, and the stone was carved with words warning of poor harvest and famine: "If you see me, cry."
The stones have been around since the 15th century to warn of dangerously low water levels, the report said.
Now, the "Hunger Stone" appears in the dry riverbeds of the Rhine and Elbe.
It's not just Germany that the river is "losing strength", the report noted.
The water level on the Hungarian section of the Danube is too low to be navigable.
Italy's Lake Garda has become record shallow, and its water temperature is now comparable to the Caribbean Sea.
Italian farmers farming along the Po River are in panic, and today there is no water to irrigate their fields.
Parts of the French Loire River have almost completely dried up and are now traversable on foot.
Scientists have tried to figure out what caused the extreme drought in Europe, but have failed to reach a consensus.
Some experts believe the current sweltering heat is the worst in the past 500 years, while others are convinced that the 15th and 16th centuries were much worse.
But the scientific community's assessment of the consequences is unanimous - the heat has led to "unprecedented droughts in the land" and damage to agriculture.
The report also pointed out that in places where crops have not yet been destroyed by lack of water, forest fires that have devoured arable land and pastures have become another problem.
Europe broke a tragic record this summer - some 660,000 hectares of land were burned by fires, according to the European Forest Fire Information System.
This area can accommodate two Luxembourg.
Fires raged in Spain, France, Portugal, Italy, Austria, Greece and Croatia.
However, European experts warn that the fire season is far from over.
By the end of autumn, the area of destroyed land could reach one million hectares.
(Compiler / He Yingjun)