Climate Change: Europe to face severe droughts
Climate Change:
Europe to face severe
droughts
Drought is a
major natural disaster that can have considerable impacts on society, the
environment and the economy. These results, by researchers from the
European Commission's Joint Research Centre and the University of
Kassel in Germany, were published on Friday.
In Europe
alone, the cost of drought over the past three decades has amounted to over 100
billion Euros.
LONDON:
Droughts in Europe would become more frequent and intense due to climate change
and increased water use by the end of this century, weather predictions
released on Friday said. Southern parts of the continent will be the most
affected.
Stream
and river minimum flow levels may go down by up to 40% and periods of water
deficiency may increase up to 80% due to climate change alone in the Iberian
Peninsula, south of France, Italy and the Balkans.
Higher
temperatures not only result in more water being evaporated from soils, trees
and bodies of water, but also lead to more frequent and prolonged dry spells,
reducing water supply and worsening droughts.
The
emission scenario used in the study predicts that average global temperature
will increase by up to 3.4°C by 2100, relative to the period 1961-1990. But the
authors warn the warming projected for Europe, particularly its southern
regions, is even stronger.
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