Europe’s worst drought in 500 years: Yahoo News Explains

Climate change is wreaking havoc on Europe. In July, there were deadly, record-breaking heat waves, and now drought — the worst the region has seen in 500 years. Yahoo News explains the surprising effects of receding water levels throughout the continent.

Video transcript

[MUSIC PLAYING]

- Climate change is wreaking havoc on Europe. In July, there were deadly record-breaking heat waves, and now a drought, the worst the region has seen in 500 years. According to a new report from the European Commission, 2/3 of the continent is under a drought warning. Preliminary data from the European Drought Observatory found large percentages of soil and a clear deficit of moisture and vegetation under stress.

Receding water levels have dried some riverbeds completely. In some cases, revealing artifacts from below the depths, including shipwrecks, World War relics, and hunger stones, rocks placed throughout the centuries to mark water levels during historic droughts inscribed with warnings to future generations. The most recent in Germany from a 2018 drought. The oldest in the Czech Republic is believed to be from the 15th century and reads, "If you see me, then weep." Hot and dry conditions have caused wildfires, blackouts, increased crop failure, and threatened livestock. But Europe is not alone. Dry conditions are plaguing China and large swaths of the United States.

PAUL BAKER: The river that runs through the center of the park has dried up and left us high and dry, which is not a great thing. But the good thing about it is that it exposes dinosaur tracks that either haven't been seen before or tracks that have not been seen in years or sometimes decades.

- Countries along the European Mediterranean are likely to see warmer and drier conditions until November.