[News Article] Heatwaves and Drought across the European Region: A growing Climate Change risk

Mizanul Amal — FPCI Universitas Airlangga

Over the past month of August, an extreme heatwave has been happening in several European countries. A number of European countries–Spain, Portugal, Italy, and the United Kingdom have severely been affected by the surging heat temperatures due to climate change. Wildfires are becoming massive and more frequent in Europe where thousands of people have died in the blazes of the fire. Moreover, several European countries especially Italy and Spain have not experienced significant rainfall and snowfall was down to 70% due to the growing temperatures. This has seriously resulted in concerns over drought where half of the European countries are experiencing the worst drought in decades.

According to DW news, approximately 60% of the European countries have been affected by this catastrophic phenomenon. As water shortages have become more frequent in some European countries such as Spain, Italy, France, and the Netherlands, some rivers are also becoming shallower. The consequences will not only endanger human life but also the country’s economy as well. For example, rivers in Germany that have become a satellite for the shipping lanes’ activities have statistically been disrupted due to this phenomenon. The disruption will seriously undermine the supply chains for the European region and hamper Germany’s economy at the same time.

A similar issue also happened in Italy where the Po River that 41% used for the country’s agriculture is facing a water crisis as a result of the rise in temperatures and the rainfall deficit that has been happening for the past three years. According to the European Commission, the water crisis of the Po River will consequently affect 30% of human life in Italy. The water crisis has reduced one-third of the total crop all over Italy and has raised the cost of harvest. Referring to some of these catastrophic phenomena, it can be inferred that climate change affects every aspect of human life. The climate change risk that human activities have caused is growing more than ever and exacerbating the heat wave across the European region.

References:

Cappucci, M. 2022. “Extreme drought is gripping Europe, intensifying heat and fueling fires”. The Washington Post [Online]. https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2022/08/11/europe-drought-heatwave-fires-climate/ [Accessed August 23, 2022].

Coldiretti. 2022. Siccità: devasta il raccolto di riso italiano (-30%) [Online]. www.coldiretti.it/economia/siccita-devasta-il-raccolto-di-riso-italiano-30 [Accessed August 23, 2022].

DW News. 2022. More than half of Europe affected by extreme drought [Online]. https://www.dw.com/en/more-than-half-of-europe-affected-by-extreme-drought/av-62786604 [Accessed August 24, 2022].

Italian Government Presidency of the Council of Ministers. 2022. PM Draghi holds press conference following Council of Ministers meeting [Online]. www.governo.it/en/articolo/pm-draghi-holds-press-conference-following-council-ministers-meeting/20188 [Accessed August 24, 2022].

Reuters. 2022. Low Rhine water levels threaten Germany’s economic growth [Online]. www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/low-rhine-water-levels-another-drain-germanys-economy-2022-08-10/ [Accessed August 24, 2022].