More than a quarter of the European continent and the Mediterranean basin were affected by soil drought in early April, according to satellite data from the European Copernico program analyzed this Thursday by AFP.
According to the analysis, 28.65% of the area studied by the European Drought Observatory (EDO) – that is, Europe to Turkey and the Caucasus, as well as the Maghreb coast – was in a state of drought from April 1 to the last April 10.
The main affected areas are Scandinavia, Ireland, northern Poland, Spain, Turkey and the western Black Sea coast, as well as the northern Maghreb and the Caucasus.
Only 25% of the observed area is in a situation of soil moisture deficiency, as a rule, as a result of the lack of rains, and 3.57% is in the “vegetation development anomaly”, the most critical condition.
This “stress” plant, synonymous with significant agricultural losses, is found mainly in the Maghreb countries, in parts of southern Spain, central Ireland and Turkey.
The proportion of areas that are too dry is relatively stable compared to March (27.7% from 21 to 31 March, 28.9% from 11 to 20 March).
However, in early April, 8.6% of the surveyed area returned to normal after a period of drought, especially in the northern half of France.
The combined drought index was updated in March using Copernicus satellite imagery, and an accurate comparison with previous years, namely 2022, marked by historical heatwaves and droughts, was not immediately available.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.