Severe Drought Grips over Half of Europe, Mediterranean

More than half of Europe and the Mediterranean coastline has been under drought conditions for four straight months, with July marking the worst level since records began in 2012, according to an AFP analysis of European Drought Observatory data.

In July, drought affected 52% of European land and Mediterranean shores—21 percentage points higher than the 2012–2021 average. The region has been breaking drought records month after month since the start of the year.

Some countries have seen dramatic spikes in water scarcity. In Hungary, drought coverage jumped from 9% in June to 56% in July; in Kosovo, from 6% to 43%; and in Bosnia and Herzegovina, from 1% to 23%. The Balkans, plagued by intense heatwaves since early summer, have also faced an unprecedented number of wildfires, including illegal open-air landfill fires that emit toxic smoke and gases.

In the Eastern Mediterranean, Turkey has endured persistent drought affecting over 60% of its territory every month since March. This prolonged dryness has fuelled wildfires, such as the recent blazes in the country’s west that forced the evacuation of three villages and temporarily halted shipping through the Dardanelles Strait.

Western Europe has experienced more varied conditions. In France, drought worsened sharply from 44% of land in June to 68% in July. The country recently battled one of the largest wildfires in its history, which scorched 13,000 hectares in the southern Aude department. France is now facing its second extreme heatwave of the summer.