France’s severe drought dries up Loire River and fuels wildfires

Satellite observations show France’s landscape turning unusually brown as the country experiences its worst drought since the 1976 dry spell. Surface soil moisture is at historic lows, and rivers are running dry, with the Loire River near Loireauxence almost completely depleted and the Sarthe River also critically low. The drought follows an unusually rainy start to the year, succeeded by a prolonged heat wave that began in late June. Over 25,000 hectares of forest have burned, more than twice the area affected at the same stage last year, prompting the French civil defence to consider deploying specially‑modified Airbus A400M transport aircraft capable of dropping up to 20 tonnes of water – a capacity comparable to three Canadair water‑bombers. EU assistance mechanisms are being activated, and fire‑fighting resources, including 60 aerial units, are already in use. The same heat wave is affecting other parts of Europe, with drought conditions reported in the Czech Republic, England and Spain.