The gloomy weather at the end of July allowed the old continent to re-humidify. Drought continued to ebb in Europe and along the entire Mediterranean coast. With the exception of the south of the continent hit by a heat wave, according to the most recent data from the European Drought Observatory (EDO) analyzed by AFP. From July 21 to 31, soil drought affected 36.9% of European territory and the Mediterranean coasts, when the south of the continent was hit by a heat wave.
The proportion falls back below the 40% mark, after two months above this threshold. Last year at the same time, the drought affected 55.4% of the territory. The European indicator, updated approximately every ten days, is based on anomalies in precipitation, soil moisture and the state of vegetation, depending on the region and type of climate.
Drought remains severe
On the other hand, it does not take into account the level of groundwater, which persists for example in France at an abnormally low level. The drought reached a peak in Europe in mid-June, with 49.2% of land affected, and has since been declining thanks to the rains. This episode of soil drought is much less intense than that of 2022.
Last year, the indicator remained above 40% from mid-March to the end of September, even easily exceeding 50% of land affected for long months. This episode is nevertheless a new testimony to the increased frequency of droughts in Europe, since since 2018, soil dryness exceeds 40% for at least one month each year. Between 2012, when the EDO measurements began, and 2017, Europe had not experienced such episodes.
Luxembourg hit 95.1% by drought
At the end of July, the countries of central Europe remained among the most affected, with in particular 72.9% of surface areas affected in Germany and 90.7% in Poland. The proportion reached 64.3% in Switzerland, 65.2% in Belgium and 95.1% in Luxembourg. But except in Poland, the drought was receding in all these countries. Same trend in France, where 39% of the land was affected at the end of July, a proportion in sharp decline compared to the beginning of June (64.3%).
In northern Europe, Denmark, Sweden and Finland, almost all of whose territories were affected by the drought in June, saw their situation improve markedly. As for the southern countries, hit by the heat wave in July, they nevertheless remained among the least affected by the drought at the end of the month: 17.3% in Spain, 15.2% in Italy and 9.4% in Greece. But the proportion there was on the rise.