Climate change: 'Europe faces worst drought in 500 years'

Climate change: 'Europe faces worst drought in 500 years'

Two-thirds of continental Europe is currently suffering from some kind of drought and this is the worst drought in 500 years that the countries of this continent are facing.

According to the latest report of the Global Drought Observatory, 47% of continental Europe has drought-like conditions, which means that the soil in these areas has dried up.

17% of the area is under alert, i.e. showing signs of weed and vegetation infestation.

The report warns that the drought will affect crop production, cause forest fires and could last for several months in southern Europe.

Compared to the previous five years, the European Union fears that the corn harvest could decrease by 16 percent, soybean by 15 percent and sunflower by 12 percent.

The drought watchdog is part of the research wing of the European Commission.

Responding to the report, the European Commission warned that preliminary data showed that "the recent drought appears to be the worst in 500 years."

EU Research Commissioner Maria Gabriel says that the recent heat wave and water shortages have put unprecedented pressure on water levels in all EU countries.

He also said that 'we are seeing incidents of forest fires which are more than usual and besides this the impact on agricultural production is also high.'

According to him, climate change is undoubtedly becoming more severe every year.

The report also warns that most of the rivers flowing across the continent have dried up to some extent.

According to the report, apart from its obvious impact on shipping, the water shortage is also affecting the energy sector, which is already in crisis as hydropower production has seen a major drop of 20 percent.

According to the report, the situation of drought in many regions of Europe has been maintained throughout the year, but since the beginning of this month, the affected area has increased rapidly and the situation is worsening in the already affected areas.

The report states that this situation may persist till November in the regions adjacent to the Mediterranean Sea in Europe.

The report warns that drought conditions are worsening in Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Romania, Hungary, Northern Serbia, Ukraine, Moldova, Ireland and the United Kingdom.

The rapidly receding river levels in Europe, following the researchers' warnings, have also echoed warnings from ancestors across the continent that conditions are worsening.

These stones, called 'Hunger Stones' (signs of famine), are only visible when the water level is extremely low.

On these stones there are messages from the people of the past eras, which tells about the famines and the hardships caused in the past eras.