Published: Less than 40 min ago
Popular tourist destinations have been affected by water shortages.
Southern Europe has already been affected by drought – and summer has barely begun.
– You can say with some certainty that it is due to climate change, says climate scientist Michael Tjernström.
It has been flagged that the Swedish summer this year could be as hot as the record summer of 2018. There have been warnings of drought, forest fires and harvest problems.
But in southern Europe, drought and heat have already begun.
– You shouldn’t imagine that it is possible to explain the heat and drought that is prevailing right now, but you have to look over a longer period of time, says Michael Tjernström, professor of meteorology.
Wading in the tourist lake
The drought is hitting several popular tourist destinations around Europe hard.
Lake Garda, Italy’s largest lake, has its lowest water level in 70 years. People wade where they usually boat, write VG.
The lake is a critical freshwater reservoir in Italy and when water levels drop, agriculture, tourism and shipping are threatened, according to the Italian news agency Tend.
– It is not possible to blame anyone. It is the weather that has caused it and the weather is controlled by chance, says Michael Tjernström.
The river Po is losing water
Furthermore, Italy’s longest river, the 652 kilometer long Po, has suffered from a water shortage. The river has 60-70 percent less water than usual.
– This is because it was dry and hot earlier. The usual annual cycle in the Mediterranean area is that there is hardly any rain in the summer and most of the precipitation falls during the winter months. It is he who fills the lakes and makes water flow in the river.
Last year, southern Europe was hit by what Carbon Brief describes as the worst drought in 500 years, when at least 15,000 people died, reports VG.
Gassing rabbits – to save the harvest
The hot summer of 2022 was followed by a dry winter. In northeastern Spain, more specifically in Catalonia, a drastic decision has been taken to save this year’s fragile harvest.
Rabbits that have spread over the area threaten the crops that survived the drought. Now 250,000 rabbits are to be gassed to death to try to control the population and the harvest.
When the winter was dry, the system became unbalanced. The water reservoir that should have been filled was not filled. And therefore there is now a deficit of water for the summer.
– It is not something that is happening now suddenly, but it comes year after year and you can say with some certainty that it is due to climate change.