On July 18, the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre released the “Drought in Europe – July 2022” report, to assess the Europe’s drought situation based on the European Drought Observatory.
The assessment report multiple countries exposed to extreme droughts, which are driving crop yields down from a previously already negative outlook for cereals and other crops. The countries mostly affected by it are: France, Romania, Spain, Portugal and Italy. Particularly in Italy, the well-known Po river, is already facing a drought emergency across five national regions; within Italian municipalities, citizens have insufficient water availability.
This lack of water is also reducing or suspending hydroelectric and thermoelectric power production operations across countries.
In the coming months, the unfavourable forecasts may compromise the water supply and will likely keep the competition for this resource high. Integrated water resources management is essential to ensure sustainable quantity of good quality water for all water users and the environment in a given river basin.
While drought mitigation strategies are of the utmost importance now, so is tackling the root cause of the problem: climate change and its disruption of the planet’s water cycle. Further efforts are needed also for preventively adapting to the changing weather patterns by climate-proofing energy supply and applying sustainable solutions in agriculture. Find out more in the full report.
