Close to half of the territory of the European Union is at risk due to prolonged drought, which is expected to cause a decrease in crop yields in several countries, including Portugal, warns a report published on Monday by the European Commission.
The report on “Drought in Europe — July 2022”, prepared by the Joint Research Center of the European Commission based on the work of the European Drought Observatory, points out that “the severe drought that has affected several regions of Europe since the beginning of the year continues to widen and worsen”, due to the combination of lack of rain and heat waves.
According to the analysis of the evolution and impact of the prolonged drought in the EU, currently “a worrying proportion of the territory” of the European Union is exposed to alert levels, that is, a significant deficit of soil moisture, (46% of the EU) and 11% are already in a drought alert situation, combined with a soil moisture deficit associated with vegetation stress.
The European Commission warns that “hydric and thermal stress is causing crop yields to decrease”. easing of an already negative outlook for cereals and other crops“, noting that “France, Romania, Spain, Portugal and Italy are likely to face this decline in crop yields”.
The lack of precipitation means that the water content in the soil has decreased significantly” and this “has made it difficult for plants to extract water from the soil, which has caused widespread stress on the vegetation, especially in the Italian plains of southern, central and the west of France, in the center of Germany and the east of Hungary, Portugal and the north of Spain”, reads the document.
The report notes that the situation “is difficult throughout the Iberian Peninsula”noting that, in Portugal, “hydropower stored in reservoirs is half the average of the previous seven years”, while in Spain the volumes of water stored in reservoirs are currently 31% lower than the 10-year average, in addition to the fact that “both countries are experiencing conditions conducive to forest fires.”
According to this report, the energy production of run-of-river plants until the beginning of July was lower than the 2015-2021 average of many European countries, among which Italy stands out, with 5,039 gigawatt hours (GWh) less than the average. France (-3,930 GWh) and Portugal (-2,244 GWh).
The document highlights that the lack of water is also reduce or suspend hydroelectric and thermoelectric power production operations in all countries, concluding that, “in short, drought conditions and water scarcity are affecting energy production and reducing crop yields.”
Climate change is increasing the risk of severe droughts and wildfires around the world. The Joint Research Center is using science and technology to monitor climate change. With this report, we better understand the situation so that we can protect our forests, cultures and waters”, commented the European Commissioner for Innovation and Research, Mariya Gabriel.
This report is published on a day when the European Union’s agriculture ministers are meeting in Brussels, with Minister Maria do Céu Antunes indicating at the entrance of the meeting that “concerns related to the drought and also the fires that result from this wave will be talked about. “the extreme heat felt over Europe”.
Source: Observadora
