47% of the European Union (EU) is in a “Worrying situation” and 17% on “alert” due to the worst drought that the territory of the EU in the last 500 yearsaccording to data published today by the Joint Research Center (JRC) of the European Commission.
“47% of the EU is still in a worrying situation, which means that rainfall has been less than usual and soil moisture is deficient, and 17% of the EU is on alert,” the Executive said in a statement. community.
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Total, 64% of Europe “is in a warning or alert situation”which extends the fire danger zones throughout the EU,” added the Commission, which forecasts that “in the western Euro-Mediterranean region there will be warmer and drier conditions than usual in the coming months, until November 2022”.
According to experts from the Joint Research Center, the current drought “seems to be the worst for at least 500 years”, although preliminary data should be consolidated at the end of the summer season in the northern hemisphere.
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47% of the EU is still in a worrying situation, which means that rainfall has been less than usual and soil moisture is deficient, and 17% of the EU is on alert
Water stress and heat, adds the Community Executive, “significantly worsen the previous negative perspectives on the yields of summer crops” and also affect hydroelectric generation and the cooling systems of other power plants and river transport.
The European Commission forecasts that the yield of grain corn, soybeans and sunflowers in the EU will fall by 16, 15 and 12% respectively compared to the average of the last five years.
The August JRC report indicates that the water stored in reservoirs in Spain is “around 58% of the average of a decade for the period, while some southern regions (for example, Andalusia and Extremadura) it is estimated which are around 30% of the average levels of 10 years”, which makes the conditions also “extremely favorable for wildfires”.
The risk of forest fires “is high to extreme in most” of Portugal, where hydroelectric energy stored in reservoirs is less than half the average of the previous five years and around 25% of reservoirs could not meet irrigation needs, adds that community agency.
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In the Netherlands, for example, the lack of water has affected commercial shipping, the stability of the docks, and the problems of seawater intrusion, in addition to forcing a reduction in “ship loads that affect the transport of coal and oil”.
EFE
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