‘Worst in 500 years’: Europe’s great drought, explained | Explained News,The Indian Express

Europe drought explained: Legendary rivers have been reduced to shallow streams, hitting power generation. After the record-breaking summer heat, 2022 may be the worst drought year in Europe in 500 years. China, US too are facing drought.

European media has been full of dramatic pictures of drying, exposed riverbeds. Some of Europe’s biggest rivers — Rhine, Po, Loire, Danube — which are usually formidable waterways, are unable to support even mid-sized boats. As water levels have fallen, remains of sunken ships and ominously named hunger stones — rocks engraved by previous generations during earlier periods of extraordinary dryness — have come out of erstwhile depths.

The drought has been billed as the worst in 500 years. It is being said that never has a European summer been so dry since 1540, when a year-long drought killed tens of thousands of people. The dry spell this year follows a record-breaking heatwave that saw temperatures in many countries rise to historic highs.

The impact has been debilitating. Water transport has suffered badly, and is having cascading effects. Power production has been hit, leading to electricity shortages and a further increase in energy prices already pushed high by the war in Ukraine. Food is sharply more expensive in many countries, and drinking water is being rationed in some regions.

‘Worst in 500 years’

Earlier European droughts — such as those in 2003, 2010, and 2018 — too were compared to the 1540 event. Much like now, the 2018 drought was described as the “worst in 500 years”. But last week, a senior scientist at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre said this year could turn out to be worse than 2018, though data were still being analysed.

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-europes-great-drought-8107833/

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