Drought warnings have recently been issued in many parts of Europe, and the continent is experiencing severe drought. The drought has left rivers at new low levels, exposing something deep under the water, in addition to World War II-era shipwrecks, artillery shells, and inscriptional boulders called the "Hungry Stone."
The inscription "Stone of Hunger" emerges from the water.
Will the old proverb be engraved in 2022?Not long ago, citizens were warned in Cologne and Bonn, Germany, to walk cautiously on the banks of the Rhine, where many World War I and World War II bomb wreckage were exposed. Today, the so-called "Stone of Hunger" has been found along the Rhine and Elbe rivers. The stones come from medieval Europe, when people who made a living by shipping would mark low water mark records on large stones in the center of the river or river. Since the Middle Ages, Europeans have generally believed that once these stones were seen, they heralded famine.
According to tradition, whenever the "Hunger Stone" is found once, local residents will carve the year of the time on the stone. According to German media reports, researchers have found dozens of "hunger stones" on the bare banks of the Elbe alone, inscribed with the words "If you see me, cry!" "If you see this stone, you will cry, it is now 1417."
France also suffered its worst drought since 1976, with only Paris and three of the 96 native provinces not subject to water restrictions, and reduced river flows have forced some nuclear power plants to reduce their capacity. The situation in France is not an exception in Europe. A European drought observation organization noted that 47 per cent of the continent is currently at risk of drought and 17 per cent is on high alert. The organization's map shows large areas of water scarcity, not only in southern Europe, but also in northern France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
"Overall, July this year was a very dry month, especially in southern Europe." Del Campo, a spokesman for Spain's National Meteorological Service, explained, "In the spring, there is 20 percent less rainfall than normal, which is why many countries suffer from insufficient rainfall and heat waves. "In the UK, multiple sites recorded temperatures of 40°C for the first time, with around 30 sites breaking the national record for the highest temperatures set in 2003.
Water level gauge on the Rhine.
In Germany, the maximum temperature in Hamburg reached 40 °C at one point, which is extremely rare in northern Germany. The water level of the Rhine is at an unusually low level, affecting not only the environment and agriculture, but also the functioning of trade and major industries on the European continent.
In Italy, drought affects the entire country, especially in the northern agricultural regions. In Piedmont, maize harvests fell by 50 per cent, wheat by 30 per cent and rice harvests by 30 to 10 per cent. In the Novara region of the region, milk production fell by 20 to 30 per cent. In Spain, almost the whole country is in a state of water scarcity. According to a study published in the journal Nature Geoscience in early July, the Iberian Peninsula, where Spain is located, has never been so dry in 1,000 years.
According to the European Forest Fire Information System, nearly 660,000 hectares of land in Europe have been destroyed by forest fires this year, the highest in the same period since the relevant records began in 2006. In the past, the area around the Mediterranean Sea was the main occurrence of forest fires, but this year, There have also been many forest fires in European countries such as Austria and Germany.
The dry source of the River Thames photographed near Celencester, England, on Aug. 14.
The headwaters of the Thames have dried upThe River Thames is a British shipping artery that flows through the capital, London and the surrounding area, and its upper reaches are more idyllic, both as a habitat for water birds and as a tourist destination for boat trips. England has seen very little precipitation in recent months, with the worst drought since the 1930s in July, and now the headwaters of the River Thames have dried up, retreating about 8 kilometres downstream for the first time in history. The River Thames originates in the town of Cyrencester in the Cotswolds Mountains of England and stretches for 320 kilometres before finally empties into the North Sea.
The 62-year-old Sanders, who were vacationing at the officially identified source of the River Thames, planned to walk along the River Thames River Trail from its source, but found that its source had dried up, cracked, the grass was yellow, and the wooden water level measuring rods erected there were useless. The British government announced on the 12th that after the driest July since 1935, 8 of the 14 regions in England have been in a state of drought, which is the first drought in England since 2018.
The dry birthplace of the River Thames and a stele that reads "The Beginning of the River Thames".
At present, the Uk is facing extreme heat from the second heat wave since this summer, with temperatures soaring in many places. Temperatures soared to 40.2°C at one point in July, breaking the previous record for an all-time high. The high temperature and drought caused the water level of Vernuy Lake in the middle of Wales, England, to drop, causing the remains of the submerged village of Ranusin to reappear in the nearly 50 years.
The village of Ranusin is located within what is now the Snow Dun Mountain National Park. In the 1880s, a reservoir was built to supply Liverpool with water, forming Lake Vernuy, which flooded the village of Ranusin. According to the British "Daily Mail" reported on the 14th, in the past, every time to this period, the water storage in the lake can reach 90% of the capacity of the library. But in recent years, the water level of Lake Vernuy has been declining, and the water storage capacity in recent days is only 60% of the reservoir capacity. Photos published by the Daily Mail show stone bridges, stone walls and abandoned houses flooded by the lake at a glance. The last time the ruins of Ranusin village "emerged" from the water dates back to the Great Drought in 1976 in Britain.
The riverbed near the source of the River Thames has dried up.
River sightseeing fear of "stranding"River and lake levels have fallen, and the river tourism industry has been greatly affected. According to CNN reported on the 14th, Wieden, chief lecturer of tourism and marketing at the University of Brighton in the United Kingdom, said that in recent years, river sightseeing has become more and more popular in Europe, "everyone docks early, spends a whole day enjoying a city, and returns to the boat at the end of the day to continue sailing." However, the fiery river cruise encounters fiery weather. In the context of drought and climate change, River tours are "bound to be affected" and that boat trips to the Rhine "will soon be a thing of the past.", Witten believes.
The Rhine is 1232 km long and is one of the golden waterways of Europe. On the 13th, the water level of the section of the river it passed through in the German town of Kaub was only 36 centimeters. Once the water level drops below 40 centimeters, commercial vessels will not be able to operate.
Photograph of the Rhine in Rüdesheim, Hesse, Germany, on August 16.
The situation in many of Europe's rivers is not optimistic. Parts of the Loire in France dried up almost completely, and some canals were forced to close. The Hungarian section of the Danube, which flows through many European countries, is a serious problem. An official from the Hungarian Tourism Board said that because of the low water level, boats could not dock and some sites north of the capital Budapest "have been closed for about a month".
Tour guide Clawiansky said some tourists flew to Budapest but had to take a one-hour bus ride to the southern Slovak city of Komarno to board the boat because the cruise ship could not dock. Crawiansky said the decline in the Danube River level was visible to the naked eye. More underwater rocks emerge, and Margaret Island, the island in the heart of Budapest, "looks bigger."
Ships moored in the dry riverbed of the Po River on July 24 in Celmede, Italy.
Water levels in Italy's longest river, the Po River, hit record lows, and some river cruises were suspended this summer. For the past 20 years, Barbolini has rented boats to tour the section of the Po River near the city of Palma, but this year none of the business has been done. "We've had droughts before, but the water level has never been so low," he said. ”
According to the Associated Press reported on the 13th, the water level of Lake Garda, located in northern Italy, on the 12th was close to the historical lows of 2003 and 2007. A large number of tourists who came to Lake Garda on the day saw a large area of white flowers with exposed rocks at the bottom of the lake, surrounding the Syrmiao Inner Peninsula, and the scenery was very different from previous years. Trekani, a local, said that in previous years, the lake was a meter or more higher, and on windy days, the waves would even lapped at tourists on the shore. He said slightly sentimentally: "I used to hear the sound of the lake lapping against the embankment, but now I can't hear anything." ”
A drought-affected maize field photographed in Piisei-Pontoise, about 30 kilometers northwest of Paris, France, on the 18th.
UK announces "hose ban"Northern Italy has had months without heavy rainfall, combined with a 70 percent year-on-year drop in snowfall in winter, which has led to a severe drought on the Po River, costing billions of euros to farmers who depend on the river to irrigate their farmland.
Europe's high temperatures and droughts this summer have also affected hydropower, nuclear and solar power. Statistics from The Norwegian consultancy Rüstad Energy show that Europe's hydroelectric power generation in the first seven months of this year is 20% lower than that of the same period last year, and nuclear power generation is 12% lower. Hydropower in Italy accounts for 20 percent of the country's total electricity supply, but hydroelectric generation in the country has plummeted by 40 percent over the past 12 months. Spain's hydroelectric generation also plummeted by 44 percent.
All of Europe's hydropower powers have not been spared. Energy exporter Norway has warned that it may have to stop exporting energy to countries such as the United Kingdom if the water level in the country's reservoirs does not rise. A number of EDF's nuclear power plants have also been forced to cut production in recent days, because the current water temperature in natural waters is high, affecting the water used by nuclear power plants to cool reactors.
Dry lawn and dried leaves photographed at chaplain de Mars in Paris, France, on August 17.
The drop in the Rhine water level has caused a "headache" for many factories and power plants in Germany that rely on water transport. Compared to other European countries, Germany relies more on inland waterways for transporting goods, with about 4% of goods transported by water. This has forced companies that rely on water transport of coal, gasoline and other goods to limit their production capacity, increasing the downside risk to the German economy.
Against the backdrop of EU sanctions against Russia causing Russia to reduce its energy supply to Germany, the German government began using mothballed coal power capacity in hopes of filling the energy gap. As the main artery of coal transportation, the Rhine river is therefore of even greater significance. Germany's Unipo said the low water level on the Rhine could cause two of its thermal power plants to become unusable after September.
French Prime Minister Borné announced on the 5th that an inter-ministerial crisis team will be launched, which will regularly receive relevant feedback from the provinces most affected by drought to formulate corresponding water supply plans, and will also monitor the impact of drought on French energy production, transportation and animal husbandry. In the south-eastern French department of Var, water restrictions have been introduced, ranging from 150 to 200 litres per person per day, with plans to impose a fine of 1,500 euros on excess water use.
The UK recently issued a "hose ban". The so-called "hose" refers to the British people's daily life like to connect the hose to the tap, used to water the garden, wash the car, fill the family small pool and so on. This water use method consumes up to 1,000 liters of water per hour. Three water utilities have now announced a ban on the use of hoses and face fines of up to £1,000 if they are brought to court for violating the rules.
McCliventon, a scientist at the James Hutton Institute in the UK, said it was a warning sign that humans need to take water more seriously because drought can affect the functioning of nature and the ability to provide society with the necessities of life. Biodiversity, especially the soil microbial environment, may be difficult to restore, which in turn will affect agricultural production in the coming year. Climate change makes droughts more likely, which means agriculture will cut production further and trigger higher food prices.