Europe's Drought Eases Slightly as Record Heatwaves Drain Danube and Rhine

3 articles · Updated · News For Kids · Aug 19

Temperatures across Europe have fallen closer to normal and some rain has arrived, bringing slight relief after a summer of extreme drought.
Record heatwaves and scarce rainfall dried vegetation and waterways, fueling major wildfires and pushing the Danube and Rhine to record lows; parts of the Danube are now shallow enough to cross on foot.
10-country Danube disruptions have cut barge traffic, strained drinking water supplies in some Hungarian towns, and made fuel transport harder.
France, Hungary and Romania have shut nuclear plants for lack of cooling water, while Hungary, Romania and Slovakia have curtailed hydroelectric output.
Farmers from England to Bosnia to the Netherlands expect smaller harvests of crops including corn, potatoes and broccoli, underscoring how Europe—warming about twice as fast as the world—still faces lasting climate risks.