During the summer of 2022, parts of Europe experienced drought conditions exacerbated by heat waves. [1] This was preceded by a warm and dry spring. On 9 August, a senior European Commission researcher said that it seemed to be Europe's worst year in 500 years. [2] A report from the Global Drought Observatory has confirmed this. [3] The drought had serious consequences for hydropower generation and the cooling systems of nuclear power plants, as the drought reduced the amount of river water available for cooling. [4] [5] Agriculture in Europe was also negatively affected by the drought. [6] [7] Scientists found that while precipitation deficits primarily caused the lack of water in the soil, human-induced global warming contributed to over 30% of the drought intensity and its spatial extent via enhanced evaporation. [8]
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Much of France experienced a drought. [9] [10] In early August, two-thirds of the country was at crisis alert. [11] It was reportedly been caused by the historic heatwaves that hit the country. [12] July was reportedly the driest month in France for 60 years. [13] By August, 100 villages had run out of drinking water. [14] Water use was restricted in nearly all metropolitan departments of France. [15] The Prime Minister of France Élisabeth Borne called it "the country's worst drought in history". [16] On 5 August, she announced the creation of an inter-ministerial crisis unit. [17]
The national corn harvest was expected to be 18.5% lower than 2021. [18] Milk shortages were expected to follow. [19] Conversely, salt farms benefited from the hot temperatures. [20]
In July and August Gironde experienced numerous wild fires, see 2022 European and Mediterranean wildfires.
As of August 2022, the River Rhine's water level had fallen so much that shipping was affected. [21] [22] The water level in Emmerich sunk to -3 cm, being 10 cm lower than the previous record from 2018. The normal water level is 239 cm. [23] [24] Due to the low water levels, the cost of transporting goods multiplied because ships were only able to load 25-35% of their usual freight. [25]
On 24 August, 54% of the German area was affected by an extraordinary drought. Further 24.6% by an extreme and further 12.2% by a severe drought. [26]
Many districts and states banned water extraction from creeks, rivers and lakes, the watering of lawns, filling of pools or cleaning cars. [26] [27]
By mid August, the number of forest fires in the state of Brandenburg was three times as high than in all of 2021. [28]
A state of emergency was declared in July 2022. [29] Drought was blamed for the deaths of dozens of cows. [30] Northern Italy experienced a drying up of important rivers like the Po. [31]
Water restrictions were introduced in Romania in July 2022 in preparation for drought. [32]
Low water levels in the Danube River exposed the wrecks of dozens of German warships, sunk in late 1944 to block passage to the Soviets. The wrecks were still laden with ammunition and explosives, and presented a safety hazard. [33] [34]
The Iberian Peninsula experienced a drought. Water shortages were prevalent in Spain, leading to rationing. [35]
In Portugal, the hydrological year of 2021-2022 experienced 5 heat waves and was the third driest year since 1931, after 2004-2005 and 1944-1945. [36] 80% of the territory was in extreme and severe drought during the first nine months of 2022. The year was the hottest year since 1931. [37] Agriculture was affected, with 2022 recording the worst production of cereals on record. The production of apples decreased by 20.9% compared to the previous year, pears decreased by 41.3%, tomatoes by 19.7%, and rice by 11.6%. [38]
July 2022 was the driest July in England since 1935. [40] [41] According to Sky News, in one in seven counties, it was the driest July since records began in 1836. [42] As a result, hosepipe bans were introduced in some parts of South East England. [43]
Fields and heathland dried up. [44] On 12 August, a hosepipe ban came into force by South East Water. [45] Drought-like conditions also affected South West England. [46]
On 12 August, a drought was declared [47] in eight of the 14 Environment Agency areas: Devon and Cornwall, Solent and South Downs, Kent and South London, Herts and North London, East Anglia, Thames, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, and the East Midlands. [48] Electricity supplies are reportedly threatened. [49] Reservoir levels are at a 25-year low. [50] A drought was declared in the West Midlands region on 23 August, with the Environment Agency warning it had been using groundwater resources and reserves from reservoirs in Wales to help maintain the flows of the River Severn, which supplies six million people in the area. [51]
On 15 August, a hosepipe ban was introduced in Cornwall for the first time in 26 years. [52] On 18 August, a hosepipe ban in South West Wales was introduced affecting Pembrokeshire and parts of Carmarthenshire. [53] Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water said that it would be likely to last into September. [54] Hosepipe bans were also declared by Thames Water. [55] On 19 August, a drought was declared in north Ceredigion, Teifi, Pembrokeshire, Carmarthen, Swansea, Llanelli, Neath Port Talbot and Bridgend. [56] The River Black Bourn in Suffolk was reportedly "near dead". [57]
On 30 August, a drought was declared in South West England, covering Bristol, Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Dorset and parts of Wiltshire. [58]
Parts of Yorkshire experienced their driest period on record and emergency pipes were laid. In December 2022, Yorkshire Water lifted the hosepipe ban after three months. [59]
The Cornwall hosepipe ban continued to be active into 2023, and was extended to cover large parts of Devon on 25 April 2023. This was done in an attempt to replenish water levels at the Roadford Reservoir ahead of that year's summer. [60]
The 2003 European heat wave saw the hottest summer recorded in Europe since at least 1540. France was hit especially hard. The heat wave led to health crises in several countries and combined with drought to create a crop shortfall in parts of Southern Europe. The death toll has been estimated at more than 70,000.
A period of unusually hot summer weather occurred in the British Isles during the summer of 1976. At the same time, there was a severe drought on the islands of Great Britain and Ireland. It was one of the driest, sunniest and warmest summers (June/July/August) in the 20th century, although the summer of 1995 is now regarded as the driest. Only a few places registered more than half their average summer rainfall. In the Central England temperature record, it was the warmest summer in the series until being surpassed in the 21st century. It was the warmest summer in the Aberdeen area since at least 1864, and the driest summer since 1868 in Glasgow.
An outdoor water-use restriction is a ban or other lesser restrictions put into effect that restricts the outdoor use of water supplies. Often called a watering ban or hosepipe ban, it can affect:
Drought in Australia is defined by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology as rainfall over period greater than three-months being in the lowest decile of what has been recorded for that region in the past. This definition takes into account that drought is a relative term and rainfall deficiencies need to be compared to typical rainfall patterns including seasonal variations. Specifically, drought in Australia is defined in relation to a rainfall deficiency of pastoral leases and is determined by decile analysis applied to a certain area. Note that this definition uses rainfall only because long-term records are widely available across most of Australia. However, it does not take into account other variables that might be important for establishing surface water balance, such as evaporation and condensation.
Droughts are a relatively common feature of the weather in the United Kingdom, with one around every 5–10 years on average. These droughts are usually during the summer, when a blocking high causes hot, dry weather for an extended period. However this means that droughts can vary in their characteristics. All types of drought cause issues across all sectors, with impacts extending to the ecosystem, agriculture and the economy of the whole country in severe cases of drought. The south east of the country usually suffers most, as it has the highest population and the lowest average precipitation per year, which is even lower in a drought. Even in these areas in severe droughts, the definition, impacts, effects and management are all minimal in comparison to drought prone areas such as Australia and parts of the United States. In recent years however, the summers of 2007, 2008, 2009, August 2010 and 2012 were wetter than normal, 2007 being wettest on record. Droughts have continued to occur in recent times, with spring 2011, July 2013, summer 2018, spring 2020, spring and summer 2022 and May and June 2023 all featuring excessively dry periods for part or all of the UK, and will likely become more severe due to climate change over the 21st century.
The 2010 Northern Hemisphere summer heat waves included severe heat waves that impacted most of the United States, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China, Hong Kong, North Africa and the European continent as a whole, along with parts of Canada, Russia, Indochina, South Korea and Japan during July 29, 2010. The first phase of the global heatwaves was caused by a moderate El Niño event, which lasted from June 2009 to May 2010. This lasted only from April 2010 to June 2010 and caused only moderate above-average temperatures in the affected regions, but it also set new record high temperatures for most of the area affected in the Northern Hemisphere.
The 2010–2013 Southern United States and Mexico drought was a severe to extreme drought that plagued the Southern United States, including parts of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, and Oklahoma; the Southwestern States, including Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona; as well as large parts of Mexico, in a three-year pattern from 2010 to 2013.
The 2013 heatwave in the United Kingdom and Ireland was a period of unusually hot weather primarily in July 2013, with isolated warm days in June and August. A prolonged high pressure system over Great Britain and Ireland caused higher than average temperatures for 19 consecutive days in July, reaching 33.5 °C (92.3 °F) at Heathrow and Northolt.
The 1995 British Isles heatwave occurred between late July and late August. It was part of one of the warmest summers recorded in the UK, and one of the warmest Augusts ever recorded in many locations around the UK, as well as being one of the driest summers ever recorded in the UK; many weather stations recorded the summer of 1995 as drier than, or comparable with, the summer of 1976. Ireland was also widely affected by the heatwave with temperatures reaching over 30 °C (86 °F) in some locations, as well as exceptionally low rainfall throughout the summer.
Starting on 24 June 2018 and continuing throughout the summer, a record-breaking series of wildfires burned across the United Kingdom. The two largest fires, which were declared major incidents, burned over 7 square miles each and broke out on Saddleworth Moor in Greater Manchester and Winter Hill in Lancashire. Other large fires broke out in Glenshane Pass in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, Epping Forest, in London and in the Vale of Rheidol in Ceredigion, Wales. The Saddleworth Moor fire has been described as the largest English wildfire in living memory. Most of the wildfires occurred during the first official heatwave in the United Kingdom since June 2017, with temperatures reaching above 30 °C (86 °F) for several days, making the hottest June in the country since 1995, and the driest June for over ten years in large parts of the United Kingdom, exacerbating the crisis. A wildfire started on the Staffordshire Moorlands on 9 August and, despite rain, had spread to cover 219 acres by 11 August. Some hot spots were still burning as at 22 August. In total, there were 79 fires over the course of the year, a new record. However, the record was beaten in 2019 with 96 fires as of April 23.
The 2018 Britain and Ireland heatwave was a period of unusually hot weather that took place in June, July and August. It caused widespread drought, hosepipe bans, crop failures, and a number of wildfires. These wildfires worst affected northern moorland areas around the Greater Manchester region, the largest was at Saddleworth Moor and another was at Winter Hill, together these burned over 14 square miles (36 km2) of land over a period of nearly a month.
The 2018 European drought and heat wave was a period of unusually hot weather that led to record-breaking temperatures and wildfires in many parts of Europe during the spring and summer of 2018. It is part of a larger heat wave affecting the northern hemisphere, caused in part by the jet stream being weaker than usual, allowing hot high-pressure air to linger in the same place. According to the European Drought Observatory, most of the areas affected by drought are across northern and central Europe. According to the World Meteorological Organization, the severe heat waves across the northern hemisphere in the summer of 2018, are linked to climate change in Europe, as well as events of extreme precipitation.
A drought developed in the Western, Midwestern, and Northeastern United States in the summer of 2020. Similar conditions started in other states in August 2020, including Iowa, Nebraska and certain parts of Wisconsin and Minnesota. At the same time, more than 90% of Utah, Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico were in some level of drought. Also in drought conditions were Wyoming, Oregon and Arizona.
In 2022, several areas of the world experienced heat waves. Heat waves were especially notable in East Asia, the Indian subcontinent, Australia, western Europe, the United States, and southern South America. 2022 heat waves accounted for record-breaking temperatures and, in some regions, heat-related deaths. Heat waves were worsened by the effects of climate change, and they exacerbated droughts and wildfires.
The 2022 United Kingdom heatwaves were part of several heatwaves across Europe and North Africa. The United Kingdom experienced three heatwaves; the first was for three days in June, the second for three days in July, and the third for six days in August. These were periods of unusually hot weather caused by rising high pressure up from the European continent. There were also more grass fires and wildfires than average, and in August a drought was declared in many regions.
From June to August 2022, persistent heatwaves affected parts of Europe, causing evacuations and killing tens of thousands. These heat waves were the deadliest meteorological events in 2022. The highest temperature recorded was 47.0 °C (116.6 °F) in Pinhão, Portugal, on 14 July.
Events of 2022 in England. The Queen's platinum jubilee took place in February; she died in September. England's hottest temperatures on record occurred in July.
From June to 31 August 2022, China had a severe heat wave which affected several provinces and municipalities. To date, it is the country's worst heat wave to have existed. According to weather historian Maximiliano Herrera, it is the most severe heat wave recorded anywhere in the world.
In 2023, Europe experienced drought-like conditions amid heat waves.