Historic Drought Hits Europe and the Mediterranean Region
The European Copernicus Climate Change Service has announced that Europe and the Mediterranean region experienced a record-breaking drought in August 2025, affecting 53% of the land, a historic high since records began in 2012. In comparison, the average recorded for August between 2012 and 2024 was only 30.1%. The countries of Eastern Europe and the Balkans were the most affected, with the evacuation of thousands of inhabitants. In the West, Portugal suffered a 70% decrease in precipitation, while France, hit by a second heatwave, saw two-thirds of its regions suffer from water shortages. Outside the EU, the situation is critical: over 90% of Armenia, Georgia, and Lebanon are in a state of drought, while Turkey is facing fires and water shortages in 84% of its territory. According to Copernicus, the intensification of these phenomena is linked to the rise in global temperatures and greenhouse gas emissions from human activity.
