Drought

Increasingly hot Europe faces more severe droughts and growing challenges for water and land management

The European summer of 2026 has so far been characterised by exceptional heat and widespread dryness (Copernicus, 2026). Between April and June, large parts of the continent, from Portugal in the southwest to southern Finland in the northeast, received below-average rainfall. Combined with successive heatwaves, these conditions have intensified drought across Europe, contributing to widespread … Continue reading “Increasingly hot Europe faces more severe droughts and growing challenges for water and land management”

Unequal evidence and impacts, limits to adaptation: Extreme Weather in 2025

Introduction  Every December we are asked the same question: was it a bad year for extreme weather? And each year, the answer becomes more unequivocal: yes. Fossil fuel emissions continue to rise, driving global temperatures upward and fueling increasingly destructive climate extremes across every continent. Although 2025 was slightly cooler than 2024 globally, it was … Continue reading “Unequal evidence and impacts, limits to adaptation: Extreme Weather in 2025”

Human-induced climate change compounded by socio-economic water stressors increased severity of 5-year drought in Iran and Euphrates and Tigris basin

Varzaneh Desert. Image by Ninara.

The Event  From boreal winter 2020/21 onwards, a large region in West Asia, encompassing the Fertile Crescent around the rivers Euphrates and Tigris as well as Iran has suffered from exceptionally low rains and elevated temperatures. This five-year-long drought has led to severe water scarcity across the region. In Iraq, 2025 has become the driest … Continue reading “Human-induced climate change compounded by socio-economic water stressors increased severity of 5-year drought in Iran and Euphrates and Tigris basin”