Extreme heatwaves drying Europe faster than ever, analysis shows

Europe is experiencing unprecedented drying due to extreme heatwaves, driven significantly by the climate crisis, a new scientific analysis reveals. While droughts are often linked to a lack of rainfall, this year's record temperatures are proving to be a more potent factor, exacerbating the drying of land, rivers, and lakes.

The World Weather Attribution (WWA) consortium's latest findings indicate that climate change has made this year's heat conditions approximately 80 times more likely in Western Europe and 40 times more likely in Eastern Europe compared to a world without human influence. Soil dryness has also intensified, being about five times greater in Western Europe and eleven times greater in Eastern Europe due to global warming.

This shift redefines drought, as exceptionally high temperatures increase what scientists call "atmospheric moisture demand." Warm air can hold more water vapor, leading it to draw moisture from rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and the soil itself. This phenomenon is causing land to dry out even during winters with average rainfall, with the current drought developing about two months earlier than comparable events in previous years.

The consequences are already widespread, affecting millions. Many European nations have imposed water usage restrictions. Southern England faces a ban on garden hose watering, Spain and France are battling extensive wildfires, and farmers are contending with some of the driest soil conditions on record. France anticipates its worst corn harvest in half a century, while Romanian farmers report over a million hectares of destroyed crops. River levels are also dropping, hindering hydroelectric power generation and river freight transport. In the Netherlands, the Rhine River's water level has fallen below the record low set during the 1976 drought.

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The atmosphere is becoming 'thirstier' and draws moisture from rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and the soil. Increasingly hot air simply dries out the ground.