Scientists have found in a new analysis of satellite data from 2002 to 2024 that Europe is reeling from the water crisis caused by climate collapse.
According to data from University College London (UCL) in collaboration with Watershed Investigations and the Guardian, large parts of southern and central Europe are drying up, leading to the depletion of fresh water, including groundwater.
The findings also reveal a major imbalance as, unlike the southern and central parts, northern and north-west Europe, such as Scandinavia, Portugal and parts of Britain, are becoming wetter.
On the other hand, large parts of the south and southeast, including parts of Britain, Spain, Italy, France, Switzerland, Germany, Romania and Ukraine, have become drier.
The researchers attributed the drying patterns to climate change characterized by the extreme weather patterns.
“When we compare total land water storage data with climate datasets, the trends are broadly correlated,” says Mohammad Shamsudduha, professor of water crisis and risk reduction at UCL.
“We are no longer talking about limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. We are probably heading towards 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and we are now witnessing the consequences,” he added.
Such worrying trends should be a wake-up call to climate skeptics who deny the reality of climate change.
Britain shows mixed trends as the west becomes wetter and the east drier. In South East England, the dramatic change in rainfall patterns poses a serious threat to groundwater depletion.
Such a long-term drying trend is very worrying and could cause serious water crises in countries such as England. With far-reaching consequences, a shortage of water resources can lead to food insecurity and acute depletion of groundwater-fed habitats.
