Climate threat Extreme weather in Europe

Drought Hits French Agriculture Hard: “Catastrophic”

The repeated heat waves in France and the UK this summer have hit future harvests hard, Le Monde and the BBC write. The situation is described in some places as “catastrophic”.

In England, only a few percent of the usual June rainfall has fallen in some places. In France, the corn harvest is expected to decrease by thirty percent and chicken owners have sounded the alarm about unusually high mortality in their flocks.

“The western parts of the country, from Landes via Centre-Val de Loire, are the hardest hit,” Cyril Pogu of the vegetable organization Légumes de France tells Le Monde.

In some parts of France, it has not rained for two months and many farmers are considering a change of crops for future summers.

New heat wave puts Italy on high alert

On Monday, temperatures of over 30 degrees – and in some cases up to 40 degrees – are expected in almost all of Italy. This means that authorities in almost all major cities will be put on high alert, writes TT.

The upcoming heat wave is moving into the country from North Africa via the Mediterranean, reports the BBC. The Italian authorities are urging their citizens to avoid direct sunlight between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. and to drink plenty of fluids.

During July, several countries in Southern Europe have been plagued by severe forest fires, which have led to deaths, extensive destruction and extensive evacuations.