Heat alarm in Europe: now our holiday countries are drying up
Created: 07/06/2022Updated: 07/06/2022, 09:00
By: Dominik Goettler
Puffs of smoke over Rome: The fire broke out a few kilometers from the Vatican on Monday evening.
© Matteo Nardone/Imago
Forest fires in Greece, empty reservoirs in Spain, drought emergency in Italy: Europe's holiday regions are struggling with heat and drought.
Researchers warn that it will only get worse in the future.
Rome/Madrid/Athens – The lifeline of northern Italy is little more than a trickle.
Hardly a drop of rain has fallen in the Po Valley for months, and a heat wave is covering the country like a thick carpet.
The Po, Italy's longest river, has reached an all-time low.
This is driving the farmers in the region to despair.
Because the water level is so low that the salt water from the sea pushes inland and floods the irrigation canals for the corn and rice fields, which are otherwise fed from the Po.
Italy's breadbasket is drying up due to climate change.
Holiday destinations in Europe suffer from water shortages
The drought does not only hit Italy.
A tough summer is looming for large parts of southern Europe.
There is already a water shortage in Spain because the drought is causing the level of many reservoirs to drop.
In Portugal there is talk of the worst drought in 20 years.
And in Greece, the fire brigade counted 311 forest fires within a week.
Drought in Italy: cities turn off wells - dispute on Lake Garda
The drought emergency in Italy has been in force since Monday until December 31 in Lombardy, Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia.
Drinking water consumption has been restricted in Verona.
Gardens and sports fields may no longer be watered there during the day.
Washing cars and filling swimming pools are also taboo – otherwise fines may apply.
In Pisa, drinking water may only be used in the household from Monday.
In Milan and Padua the big fountains were shut down.
Even on Lake Garda, the water level is half a meter lower than last year - and a dispute is raging in the region over whether water should be channeled from Lake Garda into the Po.
Many Catholic communities are already calling for rain prayers.
Water shortage: Spain rations drinking water
Things are not looking much better in Spain: the reservoirs there are still 46 percent full on average – the lowest level since records began 17 years ago, reports the newspaper
La Vanguardia
, citing government information.
It is expected that the level will continue to decline until September.
A recovery is not expected until autumn.
Drinking water rationing would not be considered for the time being.
However, the lack of water is already affecting agriculture and animal husbandry, river navigation and tourism, reported the Spanish state television broadcaster
RTVE
.
Some municipalities and holiday home owners would not have filled their swimming pools to voluntarily save water.
Portugal is hit by drought - Greece is threatened with new forest fires
Climate change can also be felt in the western neighboring country: In Portugal, there is talk of the worst drought in the last 20 years.
After the hottest May since 1931, more than 97 percent of the territory is currently suffering from severe drought, according to the latest data from the Portuguese Institute for the Sea and Atmosphere.
"We have to get used to living with less water," warned Environment Minister Duarte Cordeiro.
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In Greece, on the other hand, the water reservoirs are full, according to the state waterworks.
But there is another concern in addition to Corona: People fear that there will be serious forest fires again this summer after tens of thousands of hectares of forest fell victim to the flames last year.
In the past seven days alone, the Greek fire brigade counted 311 forest fires.
Hundreds of firefighters and volunteers fought on three major fire fronts on Tuesday night, including on the Peloponnese peninsula and in central Greece.
A fire threatens one of the largest olive growing areas in the Fokida region, the fire has already destroyed 300 hectares of agricultural land.
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Climate change in Europe: Heat waves are increasingly hitting Western Europe
According to researchers, Western Europe will have to adapt to more heat waves in the future.
Because the so-called jet stream - these are large wind bands five to ten kilometers high - has changed, as scientists from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research have investigated.
They evaluated observation data from the past 40 years.
The result: Over Europe, particularly western Europe, heat waves have increased three to four times faster than in the rest of northern mid-latitudes such as the United States or Canada.
Heat waves are particularly persistent when the jet stream splits into two branches and keeps cooling weather conditions away from Western Europe.
2022 builds on the past year of extremes.
The result: heat waves in the Mediterranean region, floods and calm winds in western Europe.
© Martin Gerten/dpa
According to the researchers, the cause of the more intense heat waves is man-made global warming.
The grim prognosis from Efi Rousi, lead author of the study: "We expect it to get worse."
The weather seems to be going crazy more and more often.
There is definitely a connection with the climate, as meteorologist Özden Terli often addresses on ZDF.
The weather expert in the
Merkur.de
interview.
(with dpa/afp)
