Heat-driven drought threatens European agriculture and waterways

A study by the international World Weather Attribution (WWA) collaboration finds that extreme heat, not a lack of rain, is the primary driver of the severe drought affecting Europe this summer. Record‑breaking heatwaves are now about 80 times more likely in Western Europe and 40 times in Eastern Europe, accelerating soil‑moisture loss.

The drought is impacting food production, with France on track for its worst maize harvest in 50 years and Romania losing more than one million hectares of crops. Low river levels are disrupting shipping routes and putting pressure on energy generation across the continent.

The research shows agricultural soil droughts are now five times more likely in Western Europe and eleven times more likely in Eastern Europe because of climate change, highlighting the growing economic and social costs of heat‑driven dryness.