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Western Europe faces unprecedented drought, threatening human activity and ecosystems
Le Monde.fr • • world
Key Points:
- Western Europe is experiencing a historic drought in 2026, with parched fields and critically low river levels across the region.
- The Danube River in Budapest has dropped to about 30 centimeters in water level, forcing the shutdown of several nuclear reactors and raising concerns about an energy crisis.
- The European Copernicus monitoring service reported that soil moisture levels in July 2026 are significantly lower than those in July 2022, despite winter rains and flooding.
- Countries including Germany, the UK, Spain, and France are seeing exceptionally low soil moisture due to a severe lack of rainfall, with England and Wales recording their driest July on record.
- France has experienced a continuous precipitation deficit since June, contributing to the worsening drought conditions across Western Europe.
