Drought: almost half of Europe and the Mediterranean region affected
Nearly half of Europe and the Mediterranean coasts are affected by a long wave of drought, according to an analysis of data from the European Drought Observatory (EDO), which was updated on June 20 and was available on Tuesday, July 8.
This phenomenon has affected more than 45% of the region since mid-March. This is the first time that such a widespread drought has lasted more than three consecutive months since records began in 2012.
🚱 #Drought conditions are easing in central Europe but worsening across the east.⚠️ Alert levels persist in Ukraine 🇺🇦, Türkiye 🇹🇷, the Balkans & the Middle East, while severe heat affects much of southern Europe.
See the latest #CDI update: https://t.co/kIKfkLH5si pic.twitter.com/pWm2T4aiHT
This content is blocked because you have not accepted cookies and other trackers.
The persistence of this dry spell increases the risk of forest fires. A series of fires broke out in Turkey and Greece at the start of summer, where, on average, 72% and 56% of the soil, respectively, have been dry since mid-March. On Saturday, Greek firefighters indicated they were remaining on high alert due to high temperatures and strong winds.
The EDO drought indicator, an observatory of the European Copernicus programme, based on satellite observations, combines three parameters: precipitation, soil moisture, and vegetation condition. It deduces three levels of drought: monitoring, warning, and alert, the latter corresponding to abnormal vegetation growth.
However, the intensity of the drought has increased in the region. Since the beginning of June, 7% of soils have been on alert, twice as many as in mid-March. This worsening is concentrated in Eastern Europe, particularly in Ukraine, where 31% of the territory is on alert, and in Belarus (25%), reaching record levels for this time of year.
In the west, the United Kingdom has also been hit hard , with more than 70% of its territory affected by drought since the end of March. England, in particular, has "experienced its driest spring in more than 100 years," according to the British Met Office. "This combination of heat and sunshine, combined with very low rainfall, has created difficult conditions for agriculture and water resources across much of the country," the Met Office reported in early July.
Conversely, the Iberian Peninsula remains unaffected, with 4% of Spain affected and less than 1% of Portugal between June 11 and 20. This is significantly lower than the 2012-2024 average for this time of year, which was 32% and 27% respectively. This is partly explained by very abundant rainfall in early spring.
Beyond the period studied by the EDO, Météo France notes that around the Mediterranean, the numerous herbaceous plants which developed with the spring rains, then dried out during a very hot and dry June, can fuel the outbreak of fires, pointing to a "state of dryness of the vegetation for a very unusual start to July (...) .
The first major fires of the summer broke out in France this weekend in the Aude department and on Tuesday in Marseille . The drought in French water tables is "worrying" but "not exceptional," according to the Bureau of Geological and Mining Research (BRGM).
La Croıx
