Heatwaves and lack of rain compound drought in Europe

Heatwaves and lack of rain compound drought in Europe
Successive heatwaves and below-average rainfall have exacerbated the drought in Europe, scientists said on Thursday.
The European summer of 2026 is 'a compound crisis, driven by prolonged precipitation deficits and extreme heat,' the World Weather Attribution (WWA) group of climate scientists said.
Between April and June, large parts of the continent, from Portugal in the south-west to southern Finland in the north-east, received below-average rainfall. 
Rainfall deficits that would not previously have caused drought now resulted in drought conditions, WWA said. Climate change had increased the severity of the drought in both the western and eastern regions studied.
The drought has placed severe strain on agriculture, WWA said. Agricultural soil droughts in Western Europe were five times more likely because of climate change, it said. In Eastern Europe, soil droughts were 11 times more likely.
France's lowest maize harvest in 50 years and the loss of more than 1 million hectares of maize in Romania, combined with ongoing global conflicts, could drive up food prices and disproportionately affect low-income households, it said. 
Low river levels have disrupted cargo transport, while water scarcity threatens energy production in regions dependent on hydropower.