The biggest drought in more than 20 years has been declared across the majority of England, with households warned their taps could run dry. | RobHarris_SMH
The biggest drought in more than 20 years has been declared across the majority of England, with households warned their taps could run dry, farmers flagging major food shortages after failed crops and some supermarkets begin rationing bottled water.
The situation is particularly dire in Italy, where top utility Enel has had to shut “many” of its sites, while Norway may curb power exports to Europe after the government — under pressure from high energy prices — decided to prioritise replenishing parched reservoirs over generating electricity. A bottle sits in dried mud on the shore of the Beacons Reservoir as it lies low during the current heat wave in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales.In Germany, the levels of the Rhine River, which is used to ship everything from fuels to chemicals, paper products to grains, fell to a new low on Friday, which has further restricted the distribution of coal, petrol, wheat and other commodities amid a looming energy crisis.
Around a third of Italy’s population, around 17 million people, as well as more than half of the nation’s pigs and cattle live around the Po, the nation’s longest river, where the waters level are now one-tenth of the annual average. Climate change is expected to increase the risk of droughts in many vulnerable regions of the world, particularly those with rapid population growth, vulnerable populations and challenges with food security, a United Nations reportWithin the next few decades, 129 countries will experience an increase in drought – 23 primarily due to population growth and 38 because of their interaction between climate change and population growth.
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