Around much of the Northern Hemisphere, from Hungary to Hawaii, from the drying Rhine River to the now-recovering Rio Grande, or from Casablanca to California, summer droughts and high temperatures are having a serious impact on everything from agriculture to the freight industry.
Here's a rundown of some of the latest drought-related developments from around the world, plus a window to more bespoke coverage on DW.
Lake Garda shrinks
The worst drought that Italy has experienced in a decade has reduced Lake Garda to its lowest level on record.
The water level has fallen so far that large areas of previously underwater rock have now been exposed.
Perhaps most strikingly, an expansive stretch of bleached rock could be seen around the shoreline of the southern Simione Peninsula.
"We came last year, we liked it, and we came back this year,'' tourist Beatrice Masi told the AP news agency. "We found the landscape had changed a lot. We were a bit shocked when we arrived because we had our usual walk around, and the water wasn't there."
There hasn't been significant rainfall for months in Northern Italy, and snowfall this year was down 70%, resulting in less meltwater. That's led to a drying up of important rivers like the Po, which flows across the country's agricultural and industrial heartland.
Germany
Due to the low water level, the German container logistics company Contargo is suspending most of its inland shipping operations on the Upper and Middle Rhine.
Since no significant rainfall is expected in the coming days, the company expects the Kaub Gauge level to fall below 40 cm from this coming weekend.
"Then our barges will not be able to sail without danger, and for reasons of safety we shall have to largely discontinue our navigation on the Upper and Middle Rhine," Contargo said in a statement.
Boats sail as reservoirs drought along the Rhine, in Spijk on August 13, 2022 AFPMeanwhile, the German Farmers' Association warned on Friday that without imminent rain, this year's harvests could be severely affected by the late-summer heat wave.
The combined issues of inflation and the conflict in Ukraine were exacerbating the situation even for farmers in Western Europe, hundreds or thousands of kilometers from the front lines, it added.
The organization ssaid that "if it does not rain thoroughly and soon, then we fear harvest yields could be reduced by as much as 30% or 40%."
It also warned of the effect on farmers' own winter reserves.
France
Firefighters from six EU members started to arrive in France on Friday to help battle a series of wildfires, most notably a fierce blaze in the southwest that has forced thousands from their homes.
In total, 361 foreign firefighters have rushed to the aid of their French colleagues, the first contingent of 65 arriving from neighboring Germany.
The dry bed of Brenets Lake (Lac des Brenets), part of the Doubs River, a natural border between eastern France and western Switzerland, as much of Europe bakes in a third heatwave since June on August 4, 2022 AFPIn the southwestern Burgundy region, the Tille River in the village of Lux dried up completely, revealing thousands of dead fish in a wide trench.
France has been forced to impose various water usage restrictions nationwide during the summer.
Hungary
Water levels on the Danube River have been dipping toward critical levels in recent weeks, while parts of Lake Velence, to the southwest of Budapest, dried up entirely this week (see image at top of article).
The deputy governor of Hungary's central bank, Barnabas Virag, has warned that the lengthy period of drought, coupled with the impact of the war in Ukraine on global food supply, could push food prices higher in the coming months and exacerbate the existing inflationary pressures facing the country.
UK
Amid its driest spell of weather in well over a century, the UK is introducing a hosepipe ban in some parts of the country, while the source of the River Thames is experiencing an unprecedented lack of water.
A general view of a weir and dried riverbed near the source of the river Thames on August 10, 2022 ReutersMeanwhile, the British government said that parts of southern, central and eastern England had officially moved into drought status.
The Met Office has already declared last month the driest for England since 1935, with average rainfall at 23.1 millimeters, while some regions experienced their driest July ever.
EU
Fires that have scorched tens of thousands of hectares of wooded areas in France, Spain and Portugal have made 2022 a record-breaking year for wildfire activity in southwestern Europe, the EU's Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service said Friday.
Amid a heatwave that saw temperature records set across the continent, the bloc's satellite monitoring service said that France had in the last three months reached the highest levels of carbon pollution from wildfires since records began in 2003.
It comes in the wake of Spain registering its highest ever wildfire carbon emissions in July.
Hawaii wildfire burns across more than 15 square miles
The fire started in the western reaches of the United States Army's Pohakuloa Training Area, which is above the town of Waikoloa.
As of Thursday, the blaze had scorched more than 15 square miles of land.
