A view of the drought that affected the Los Bermejales reservoir, which was at 18 percent of its capacity in Arenas del Rey in Granada, Spain, on 13 May 2023. Photo: Anadolu Agency / Getty Images
A view of the drought that affected the Los Bermejales reservoir, which was at 18 percent of its capacity in Arenas del Rey in Granada, Spain, on 13 May 2023. Photo: Anadolu Agency / Getty Images

By Sam Meredith
5 June 2023

(CNBC) – European policymakers are battling to get to grips with a growing water crisis ahead of what researchers fear could be yet another climate crisis-fueled summer of drought.

Water resources in Europe are growing increasingly scarce because of the deepening climate emergency, with record-breaking temperatures through spring and a historic winter heatwave taking a visible toll on the region’s rivers and ski slopes.

Reservoirs in Mediterranean countries like Italy have fallen to water levels typically associated with summer heatwaves in recent weeks, threatening agricultural production, while protests have broken out over water shortages in both France and Spain.

It comes as temperatures are poised to climb through summer and many fear Europe’s already “very precarious” water problem could get even worse.

A farmer displays a water pot as she talks in a microphone about drought during a demonstration of farmers to draw attention on rural living conditions and to claim the importance of agriculture in the society and its contribution to the country’s economy, in Madrid on 13 May 2023. Photo: Oscar Del Pozo / AFP / Getty Images
A farmer displays a water pot as she talks in a microphone about drought during a demonstration of farmers to draw attention on rural living conditions and to claim the importance of agriculture in the society and its contribution to the country’s economy, in Madrid on 13 May 2023. Photo: Oscar Del Pozo / AFP / Getty Images

Satellite data analyzed by researchers from Austria’s University of Graz at the start of the year found that drought was impacting Europe on a much larger scale than researchers had previously expected.

The study was published after European Union researchers found that Europe experienced its hottest summer ever last year, with the intense drought thought to be the worst the region had seen in at least 500 years.

Researchers at the University of Graz said Europe had been suffering from a severe drought since 2018, with the effects becoming clear last year as receding waters wreaked havoc for food and energy production, while numerous aquatic species lost their habitats.

“A few years ago, I would never have imagined that water would be a problem here in Europe, especially in Germany or Austria,” said Torsten Mayer-Gürr, a lead author of the satellite study.

“We are actually getting problems with the water supply here — we have to think about this.” [more]

Europe is struggling with a precarious water situation ahead of another drought-riven summer