Much of Europe has suffered through repeated heat-waves in recent weeks. And that’s hit economies hard, whether through reduced river-traffic, dried-up farm fields or destructive wildfires. It’s a taste of what warming temperatures could bring the continent in the years ahead. Southern Europe in particular is vulnerable to climate change.
A map from the World Wildlife Fund shows the water scarcity risk across Europe over the next 30 years. According to the WWF, the number of Euoropeans living in regions of water scarcity will gradually increase. In Spain, Italy and elsewhere across the Mediterranean, that’s a problem. According to the WWF, the number of people living in water-scarce regions in Europe will increase by 50 percent by 2050. The threat of drought is likely to grow, along with its impact. That’s bad news for farmers.
Here in Germany they are eyeing a poorer harvest than usual. High temperatures and low rain levels are only part of the problem.
Other
From the ‘Spanish Stonehenge’ emerging from the Valdecanas reservoir in Spain to tourist barges struggling to navigate on the river Loire in France, here are scenes of drought-stricken dams and rivers from around the world
