New report reveals troubling trend in Europe heading into the summer
Unusual dryness has affected large portions of Europe so far this year, and a new report that analyzed the ongoing drought situation across the continent has revealed concerning signs in some of the region's vital river basins as the summer months quickly approach.
The report, released Monday, May 9, by the Global Drought Observatory (GDO) of the Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS), highlighted the Po and Danube rivers and their tributaries as the two main basins facing severe effects from precipitation deficits. The CEMS is a European agency that provides satellite-based mapping products, as well as early warning services for flood, wildfires and drought.
A severe #drought🚱 has been affecting large areas of #Europe and in particular the Po and #Danube river basins❗️
Our Global Drought Observatory #GDO has just released a new detailed report which analyses the current situation💡
Read more at👇
🔗https://t.co/PZBYjFU1SN pic.twitter.com/h8aqxlJOPQ— Copernicus EMS (@CopernicusEMS) May 9, 2022
The Po River is Italy's longest river, coursing a path through the northern part of the country. The Danube River, which shares its banks with 19 countries, is Europe's second-longest river. Both rivers are vital for transportation, irrigation, water supply as well as the generation of hydropower.
The report utilized a drought monitoring tool, called the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), to track the spread of parched conditions across Europe. The SPI, which gives experts clues on the intensity and duration of precipitation deficits, showed extremely dry conditions across much of central and eastern Europe for the one-month accumulation period in March.
The drought has manifested itself in low streamflow levels which point toward a severe hydrological drought along the Danube River. A similar scene is playing out along the eastern part of the Po basin, where "most of the tributaries have very low flows close to their minimal ecological flow for summer," according to the report.
The Iberian Peninsula was one of the few areas in Europe where near- to above-normal precipitation was recorded on the March SPI, which "contributed to a partial recovery from the dry conditions experienced at the beginning of the year," the report stated.
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The roof of an old house, submerged three decades ago when a hydropower dam flooded the valley, is photographed emerged due to drought at the Lindoso reservoir, in northwestern Spain, Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) |
A few of the March precipitation events in Spain were accompanied by dust from Africa, which created muddy scenes in typically picturesque seaside towns.
In terms of benefits to agricultural interests, experts say the precipitation in that part of Europe may have been too little too late.
"Winter crops in Spain and Italy are in sub-optimal conditions, and water stress has already reduced the yield potential," the GDO report said.
Additional troubling findings were revealed from an analysis of the snow water equivalent, or the amount of water contained within a snowpack, across the Alps. As of April, the Italian Alps are facing a 61% deficit in snow water equivalent when compared to the 2009-2021 climatology.
The concerning trends across the continent may have residents pondering what the short-term forecast entails for the region and the implications the drought could have in the weeks and months ahead.
AccuWeather Meteorologist Alyssa Smithmyer, who regularly monitors the weather in Europe and fine-tunes forecasts across the continent, said that above-normal warmth is expected into the upcoming week for drought-ridden areas. A few waves of precipitation will sweep across central and northern parts of the continent, but conditions overall are expected to be on the dry side during the time frame.
Paris recorded its warmest day so far this year on Tuesday, May 10, topping out 16 degrees Fahrenheit (9 C) above average at 81 F (27 C). The city, surrounding areas of France and neighboring countries will face another resurgence in warmth this weekend as high pressure builds overhead.
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This map shows where the hottest conditions are located across much of southern and central Europe on Tuesday afternoon, May 10, 2022. (AccuWeather) |
"The number of active wildfires across Spain, Portugal, France and Germany can climb as temperatures rise across the region," Smithmyer said, citing low relative humidity values and dry soils as other contributing factors to the elevated wildfire conditions.
"Fortunately, winds are expected to be generally light into the upcoming week," Smithmyer said.
Looking ahead to the summer months, will this warm, dry trend continue and worsen the ongoing drought and wildfire danger?
AccuWeather's expert long-range international forecasters will have all the details surrounding the weather across the continent when they release their 2022 Europe summer forecast Wednesday, May 18.
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