Persistent drought: Extreme weather events are increasing - "Famine is imminent" in parts of the world

Created: 08/26/2022, 10:28 am

By: Naima Wolfsperger

The ongoing drought since the beginning of the year threatens to have massive consequences worldwide.

Extreme weather events are increasing worldwide.

Munich – August 2022 ends with a bang.

Finally it should rain for hours.

At least in parts of Germany.

But there are also dangers due to the apparently never-ending drought.

The dried out soil cannot absorb the water fast enough.

Instead of being soaked deep down, the topsoil is eroded by the water masses.

Flooding is a possible consequence.

Experts estimate the current drought to be the worst in half a millennium.

"The drought appears to be the worst in at least 500 years," said a spokesman for the European Commission in Brussels on Tuesday.

This is a first assessment by the European Drought Observatory, which has yet to be confirmed by the final data at the end of the season.

In a report published on Monday, researchers found almost half of Europe was at risk of drought.

As of August 10, 47 percent of the European territory was warned of drought.

In addition, the condition is already alarming on 17 percent of the area.

The drought has had a severe negative impact on summer crop harvests, with corn, soybeans and sunflowers being hit the hardest.

Persistent drought: Warmer and drier than usual likely into November

Also, don't be fooled when it comes to drought.

The drought does not necessarily have anything to do with temperatures.

In the western Euro-Mediterranean region in particular, November is likely to be warmer and drier than usual.

climate change in Germany

From 1881 to 2021, the annual mean air temperature in Germany rose by 1.6 degrees, according to the German Weather Service (DWD).

Significant periods of heat or dry days have increased, especially in summer.

This in turn affects the water cycle - for example in the evaporation of water - and can promote low water events.

The Helmholtz Climate Initiative also explains why phases of heat and drought will become more likely in the future.

The current severe drought, which has affected many regions of Europe since the beginning of the year, has continued to spread and worsened since the beginning of August.

It is related to a persistent lack of precipitation combined with a series of heat waves since May.

This also affects the flow of rivers.

The lower volume of water stored also has severe impacts on the energy sector, both for hydroelectric power generation and for power plant cooling systems.

In particular, the risk of drought has increased in Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Romania, Hungary, northern Serbia, Ukraine, Moldova, Ireland and the United Kingdom.

Drought in Europe: Thunderstorms sometimes bring further damage and losses

Conditions have deteriorated the most in regions that were already affected by the drought in spring 2022, such as northern Italy, south-eastern France and some areas in Hungary and Romania.

The experts said the recent rainfall may have alleviated the drought in some regions of Europe.

In some areas, however, the associated thunderstorms would have caused damage and casualties that might have limited the beneficial effects of precipitation again.

Heat and drought are taking their toll: dried sunflowers in a field.

© Sven Hoppe/dpa-Bildfunk

And these are just the current consequences of the drought in Europe.

However, extreme weather events such as heavy rain, flooding and drought are increasing worldwide.

It's the whole world that's groaning.

Drought in China, hail in Greece, drought in France and massive floods in the US.

In East Africa, there is a threat of the fifth failure of the rainy season in a row.

The war in Ukraine does its extra.

Drought catastrophe in East Africa: "Famine is at the door"

The drought catastrophe in the four countries Somalia, Eritrea, Djibouti and Ethiopia on the Horn of Africa is therefore the worst in 40 years.

Hundreds of thousands of people were driven from their homes by the drought that began three years ago.

Unicef ​​warns that they are extremely dependent on humanitarian aid.

"If we don't act now, in a few weeks we will see too great a rise in infant deaths," said Mohamed M. Fall, UNICEF regional director for East and Southern Africa.

"The famine is just around the corner." The Horn of Africa is badly affected by the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and its consequences, such as reduced grain deliveries. 

From 1881 to 2021, the annual mean air temperature in Germany rose by 1.6 degrees, according to the German Weather Service (DWD).

Significant periods of heat or dry days have increased, especially in summer.

This in turn affects the water cycle - for example in the evaporation of water - and can promote low water events.

The Helmholtz Climate Initiative also explains why phases of heat and drought will become more likely in the future.