More than 40% of Europe slides into drought

Well implicit a 3rd of Europe, including parts of vacation destinations similar Spain, Greece and Italy, are present successful drought.

March was Europe's warmest connected record - a inclination driven by climate change - and besides saw beneath mean rainfall crossed ample parts of the northbound and eastbound of the continent.

Now 41.2% of Europe finds itself successful immoderate signifier of drought, according to the latest update from the EU's European Drought Observatory, which covers 11 to 20 May.

It is astir acute successful pockets of south-eastern Spain, Cyprus, Greece and Albania, wherever the strongest "alert" class has been issued, arsenic good arsenic parts of Poland and Ukraine.

But wide stretches of bluish and eastbound Europe done France, Germany, Poland and Ukraine besides drying up, sowing concerns astir harvest yields.

On Thursday, the UK's Environment Agency officially declared a drought successful North West England aft stream and reservoir levels were licked distant by a adust spring.

Greece tourism is 'unsustainable'

In Greece, "overtourism" from millions flocking to its beaches adds further unit to h2o supplies, said Nikitas Mylopoulos, prof of h2o assets absorption astatine Thessaly University.

"The tourer assemblage is unsustainable and determination is nary planning... starring to a tremendous emergence successful h2o request successful summer," helium told Sky News.

"The islands person an aggravated occupation of drought and h2o scarcity."

Islands similar Santorini and Mykonos are present forced to vessel successful h2o from Athens oregon desalination plants to supply for showers and swimming pools. In the past, galore residents could marque bash with section methods similar rainwater harvesting.

But agriculture is simply a acold bigger drain connected the country's water, with discarded rife and policies lacking, said Prof Mylopoulos.

Wildfire play could beryllium 'particularly difficult'

This year's blistery and adust conditions are besides fuelling the hazard of yet different fierce wildfire play successful Greece.

Last week civilian extortion curate Ioannis Kefalogiannis warned of a "particularly difficult" summer.

He said a grounds 18,000 firefighters person been deployed and the drone fleet astir doubled successful a bid to combat fires being fuelled by a hotter climate.

Droughts and their causes are much complicated, but scientists astatine World Weather Attribution accidental planetary warming is exacerbating drought successful immoderate parts of the world, including astir the Mediterranean.

They recovered the drought of 2022, which dispersed crossed the Northern Hemisphere, was made 20 times much apt by clime change.

The International Hydropower Association said drought and aggravated rainfall successful Europe are pushing powerfulness plants to "operate astatine the limits of their existing equipment".

Extreme upwind costs the EU astir €28.3bn (£23.8bn) successful mislaid crops and livestock per year, according to security steadfast Howden.

Hayley Fowler, prof of clime alteration impacts astatine Newcastle University, said: "With planetary warming, we expect much prolonged and aggravated droughts and heatwaves punctuated by much aggravated rainfall, perchance causing flash floods.

"In caller years, we person experienced much of these atmospheric blocks, causing grounds vigor and persistent drought, arsenic good arsenic terrible flooding successful different locations successful Europe.

"Recent months person been nary different, with prolonged adust conditions and heatwaves successful bluish Europe and floods successful confederate Europe."