#dryness

Increasingly hot Europe faces more Severe Droughts and Growing Challenges for Water and Land Management The European summer of 2026 has so far been characterised by exceptional #heat and widespread #dryness (#Copernicus, 2026). Between April and June, large parts of the continent, from #Portugal in the southwest to southern #Finland in the northeast, received below-average rainfall. Combined with successive #heatwaves, these conditions have intensified drought across #Europe, contributing to widespread #agricultural and #hydrological impacts, unusually low river levels (#NOS, 2026), and severe #wildfires, particularly in #Spain and #France, where 116,000 and 42,000 hectares have already been burnt, respectively (#EFFIS, 2026). Although western Europe experienced a relatively wet start to the year, persistent precipitation deficits in eastern Europe carried over from 2025, resulting in different types and stages of drought developing across the continent. With forecasts indicating little relief in the near term, the summer of 2026 is emerging as one of Europe’s most significant heat and #drought events in recent years. https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/increasingly-hot-europe-faces-more-severe-droughts-and-growing-challenges-for-water-and-land-management/ #WeatherAttribution #ClimateScience

After the #extremeHeat in France, the danger of #wildfires is enormous. #Heatwave and #soil #dryness didn't change much for the plants this week - with "cool" 30°C and full sunshine. #Trees try to resist by getting "dried" #leaves. At a certain heat temp., the process starts at the exterieur like burnings. Then the green vanishes to the centre until #photosynthesis is stopped. If the plant can't get soon enough rain to regenerate, it can die. Food crops die before trees. #oak #ClimateDiary