Almost two-thirds of Europe in danger of drought

In addition, 15 percent was on red alert, meaning severe water deficiency.

The EU's climate monitoring agency Copernicus likewise reported on Monday (8 August) that Europe continued to swelter in July, with temperatures topping 40 degrees Celsius for at least one day in Spain, France, and the United Kingdom.

The UK saw a national daily maximum temperature record of 40.3°C — the first time the country ever recorded a temperature of over 40°C.

The May-to-July period was also the driest on record in Spain with water reserves at an all-time low of 40 precent, according to the country's meteorological agency.

The Dutch government officially declared a water shortage on Wednesday.

On Friday, French prime minister Élisabeth Borne announced unprecedented water restrictions, banning people from watering their lawns, washing their cars, and preventing farmers from irrigating crops.

France recorded its driest July in more than 60 years, with just 9.7 millimetres of rain.

As a result, more than 100 French municipalities have no running drinking water and are being supplied by truck.

According to a forecast published two weeks ago by the EU's Joint Research Centre, heat and drought may lead to an 8 to 9 percent drop in the production of grain maize, sunflowers, and soybeans in Europe.

River transport is also affected, as water levels continue to fall across the bloc.

The Kaub measuring point on the Rhine river, by far the most important water transport route in Europe, was down to 49 centimetres on Sunday, taking it to within 9 centimetres of being all but impassable.

Wildfire

Drought conditions have also led to an increase in wildfires, with multiple records broken, especially in the Mediterranean, as an area more than twice the size of Rome has gone up in flames in July alone.

The EU's Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) recorded a total burnt area of 587,868 hectares in the European Union on 30 July since the beginning of the year, compared with an average of around 158,000 hectares for the 2006-2021 reference period.