BRUSSELS — From the front lines in Ukraine to ordinarily damp Belgium, a shortage of rainfall has left much of Europe parched halfway through spring.
The early drought spells trouble for supply chains and farmers — with potential knock-on effects for industry, trade and global food security, adding to the economic turmoil triggered by President Donald Trump’s erratic tariff announcements.
The European Drought Observatory’s most recent update from mid-March places parts of Poland, Ukraine, Greece, the Balkans, Sweden, Ireland, Germany and more in its orange “warning” category, while the southeastern Spanish coast is already on red alert.
While factors such as water mismanagement contribute to dry conditions, scientists say that the effects of human-made climate change, which include increasingly irregular rainfall patterns and hotter temperatures, will lead to worse and more frequent droughts in Europe.
