Half of EU at risk and crops in Portugal threatened by drought
O report on “drought in Europe — July 2022”, prepared by the Joint Research Center of the European Commission based on the work of the European Drought Observatory, points out that “the various droughts affecting different regions of Europe since the beginning of the year continue to expand worsens”, due to the rain from lack of energy and heat.
According to the evolution of the EU and the prolonged impact on the EU is “a proportion of the exposed area of the European territory is currently exposed, that is, an important impact analysis of the European Union, a deficit of importance% of the EU is not a soil (46) ).
The Commission “water and heat stress is causing crop yields to decline from a perspective already for cereals and others”, which Romania warns that France, Portugal and Italy are likely to face this decline in yield of cultures”.
“The lack of difficulty for significantly significant intake” and water content in the center, mainly the west, how to extract plants from ground water, mainly in the general Italian plains, central and western France, central Germany and eastern Hungary, Portugal and northern Spain”, reads the document.
The report that points to the situation of the Iberian Peninsula, highlighting that, in Portugal, there is a difference in average volumes of water, “it is half of the water stored”, the energy in half of the water stored, “the energy in half of the stored water”, referring to Portugal where the reservoirs are currently 31% lower than the 10-year average, in addition to “both countries prone to forest fires”.
According to this report, the energy production of run-of-river plants until the beginning of July was lower than the 2015-2021 average for many European countries, notably Italy, with 5,039 less gigawatt-hours (GWh) in compared to the average, France (-3,930 GWh) and Portugal (-2,244 GWh).
The document highlights that the lack of is reducing or suspending how hydroelectric production operations in all countries concluding that, “drought conditions and water summary energy are at a good quality energy and reduce the yield of the cultures”.
“As climate change increases the risk of severe droughts and fires around the world. The Joint Research Center is using science and technology to monitor climate change. With this report, we have a better understanding of the situation to that Protect our forests, cultures and waters”, commented the European Commissioner for Innovation and Research, Mariya Gabriel.
This report is published on a day when the European Union’s Agriculture ministers are meeting in Brussels – where the maximum temperature this week could reach 40 degrees centigrade -, with Minister Maria do Antunes indicated at the entrance to the meeting that they are applying for. as “concerns about the drought and also the fires that are felt over Europe”.
Read Also: Drought compromising a third of Italy’s agricultural production