The French newspaper Le Figaro said that almost all the rivers of the European continent dried up this summer, while the Global Drought Observatory said - in a report published on Tuesday (23 August) - that European lands experienced the worst drought in 500 years.
The European Commission stated that the significant lack of rain had a huge impact on crops and increased fire risks, not to mention its impact on the energy and transport sectors as well.
As of the date of publication of this report, the newspaper says that 47% of the European continent is still in a state of warning of drought and 17% in a state of high alert to face its complications.
According to the report, unusually hot and dry weather conditions have significantly reduced the chances of EU summer crop production, and the current forecasts for corn, soybean and sunflower at the EU level have fallen to 16%, 15% and 12%, respectively, lower than Average of the last five years.
The dramatic drop in river levels in Europe has reduced hydropower generation on the continent by 20% in recent months.
According to EU Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth Maria Gabriel, the combination of severe droughts and heat waves is putting unprecedented pressure on water levels across the EU, adding that "climate change is becoming more and more evident every year."