Affluent Europe under threat as global food prices set to escalate

Europe is facing its worst drought in 500 years, according to the international media.

More than 60% of the EU and U.K.’s combined lands are now under drought warnings or alerts.

That is in spite of its natural affluence and endowments in mechanised and digitised agriculture from farm gate to processing and marketing points, top-notch global media, including Reuters’ and BBC World Service, indicate.

According to them, the very source of the River Thames has dried up further downstream than ever before, as England looks set to enter a drought that some experts say the country is unprepared for.

Britain’s Meteo Office said last July was the driest for England since 1935, with some parts of the country experiencing the driest July ever.

That is the contrary in the West Africa sub-region, where the rains have been extreme, with fresh water running into the Atlantic Ocean from Nigeria westwards to the Senegal and Gambia – with high hopes that serious governments will rebound over food security.

Outlook for agriculture in the sub-region is expected to be favourable, with modest growth in agriculture, according to development agencies, including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Dried Thames River

One eyewitness report said the Thames natural has become shallow.

“It is very, very shallow here … but you do not have to go much further up this little bit of the Thames to find yourself stood on dry ground. And really, that is ground that should still be wet and should always be wet.”

Naull, the eyewitness, said the shallow, warmer water contained less oxygen, which fish and other wildlife needed to thrive.

Unprecedented heat and a lack of rainfall have pushed two water companies in the country’s south to announce temporary bans on the use of hosepipes and sprinkler systems.

Thames Water, which supplies 15 million customers across London and south east England, said it was planning to introduce the similar curbs.

Climate expert and hydrologist at the University of Reading Hannah Cloke said low rainfall had left river levels and aquifers low, while water had been taken out of the waterways to irrigate crops, top up drinking water and for use in industry.

“If we do not get rain in August, in fact, if we have a dry winter, then we could be in severe trouble come spring and next summer when we really don’t have any water stores left whatsoever,” Cloke said.

Dry summer jitters

A Reuters report said parts of England are likely to declare a drought on Friday, local, ahead of a meeting between the government, its environment agency and water companies to discuss a long period of dry weather.

Parts of England are in the middle of their second heatwave this summer with temperatures forecast to top 30 Celsius (86 Fahrenheit) for the next few days, having reached their highest ever of more than 40C last month.

Much of Europe has been baking in high temperatures that have triggered huge wildfires, with unprecedented droughts causing shortages, threatening crops and disrupting river shipping routes.

CBS News affirmed that July was the driest on record for some English regions and the driest for England overall since 1935, with just 35% of average rainfall.

That, coupled with continued dry forecasts, is expected to push some areas of the country to formally declare a drought after a meeting of the ‘National Drought Group’ which is due to begin on Friday morning.

Sky News said these could apply to several different reasons, citing an unnamed source in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The government said no decisions had yet been taken.

The British government’s environmental agency has warned that if the dry conditions continue, “many parts of England will move into drought.”

Yields decline

The combination of low rainfall and successive heat waves has hit farmers hard. Some are already seeing their crop yields decline. Vegetables like broccoli and brussels sprouts should be planted now to harvest in the winter, but with much of their land parched, some farmers are delaying planting the new crop.

Others are going ahead, unsure how much might survive.

The CBS News reports state further that the dry conditions are also affecting livestock farmers. Fields where cattle graze have dried the grass that should be feeding on now. Just like in the U.S., many British and European farmers are already using their winter feed, which could cause problems later in the year.

More than 60% of the EU and U.K.’s combined lands are now under drought warnings or alerts, according to the European Drought Observatory.

One senior scientist with the European Commission warned that Europe is on course to suffer through its worst drought in 500 years.

Spain, Portugal, France, Germany

Wildfires are charring thousands of acres of tinder-dry brush and destroying homes in Spain, Portugal and France.

French officials have already declared it the country’s “most severe” drought on record. Authorities there say dozens of municipalities have seen their drinking water supplies run dry, leaving them to rely on water brought in by tanker trucks.

In Germany, water levels of the Rhine River have dropped so far that it’s making it harder for ships to transport goods, including coal and gasoline, which the country sorely needs amid soaring global energy prices.

Some ships are being forced to carry only 25% of their usual cargo capacity to avoid running aground.

Scientists have said heat waves are increasing in both frequency and intensity faster in Europe than almost anywhere else on Earth, and they say human-induced climate change is playing a critical role in those changing weather patterns.

For the West Africa sub-region, however, the story appears to be different as producers across the Middle Belt into the Savannah and Sahel prepare for a boom in agriculture, despite current increasing costs of production.