<
https://www.theguardian.com/weather/2023/mar/04/very-precarious-europe-faces-growing-water-crisis-as-winter-drought-worsens>
"The scenes are rare enough in mid-summer; in early March, they are
unprecedented. Lac de Montbel in south-west France is more than 80% empty, the
boats of the local sailing club stranded on its desiccated brown banks.
In northern Italy, tourists can walk to the small island of San Biagio,
normally reached only by boat, from the shore of Lake Garda, where the water
level is 70cm (27in) lower than average. The Alps have had 63% less snow than
usual.
In Germany, shallow waters on the Rhine are already disrupting barge traffic,
forcing boats heading up into central Europe to load at half capacity, and in
Catalonia, now short of water for three years, Barcelona has stopped watering
its parks.
After its driest summer in 500 years, much of Europe is in the grip of a winter
drought driven by climate breakdown that is prompting growing concern among
governments over the water security for homes, farmers and factories across the
continent.
A study published in January by Graz University of Technology in Austria, whose
scientists used satellite data to analyse groundwater reserves, concluded that
Europe has been in drought since 2018 and its water situation was now “very
precarious”.
Torsten Mayer-Gürr, one of the researchers, said: “I would never have imagined
that water would be a problem here in Europe, especially in Germany or Austria.
We are actually getting problems with the water supply here. We have to think
about this.”
The World Weather Attribution service said last year northern hemisphere
drought was at least 20 times more likely because of human-caused climate
change, warning that such extreme periods would become increasingly common with
global heating."
Via Doug Senko, who wrote "Nothing to see here… everything is fine."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
