Southern Europe to face another year of brutal summers and heatwaves

Southern Europe is bracing itself for another year of harsh summers and heatwaves, raising concerns about unprecedented water shortages in decades. This trend, attributed to climate change, is expected to have devastating effects on Europe’s agriculture and power industry. While farmers anticipate the lowest yields in decades, hydropower production is also expected to suffer greatly.

Spain, which experienced a prolonged and painful drought last year, is unlikely to find any relief this year. This poses a significant threat to Spain’s food exports to other European Union countries. The month of April was the driest on record, and numerous cities reported their highest temperatures in decades. The water reservoirs in regions like Catalonia and Andalusia are at less than 25% of their capacity, according to Jorge Olcina, the head of the climatology laboratory at the University of Alicante.

Spain, known as “Europe’s back garden,” heavily relies on agricultural exports, making Spanish farmers among the first to feel the impact of water shortages. Patricio Garcia-Fayos, director of the Desertification Research Centre in Valencia, expressed concerns that a significant portion of Spain could turn into a desert in the coming years if climate change is not addressed and water management practices are not improved.

France is also grappling with its driest winter since 1959. The government has issued drought crisis alerts in several departments, and water restrictions have been implemented, including prohibitions on non-priority water use like lawn watering and pool filling. Despite facing a potential food crisis last year, farmers in these regions are now being urged to conserve water for irrigation.

Portugal is experiencing an early onset of drought, with 90% of the mainland facing drought conditions and 20% experiencing extreme drought. Italy’s agriculture sector is under stress due to two years of water scarcity, with significant deficits in snow water reserves and soil moisture in the northern part of the country.

Climate change is considered the root cause of the summer crisis and water shortages in southern Europe and the Horn of Africa. Experts, such as Hayley Fowler, Professor of Climate Change Impacts at Newcastle University, attribute these events to the expected climate change signal. However, many farming regions have yet to adopt water-saving techniques like precision irrigation or switch to more drought-resistant crops.