France suffers from extreme drought

• French government formed  committee to deal with the record drought.
• There are worries that the drought may lower agricultural output.
• France saw just 9.7mm (0.38 inches) of rain in July, its driest month since 1961.

The French government has formed a crisis committee to deal with the record drought that has left over 100 communities without drinkable water.

Trucks are delivering water to such communities because “there is nothing left in the pipes,” according to Minister of Ecological Transition Christophe Béchu.

According to the prime minister’s office, this is France’s worst drought on record. Water consumption is limited in 93 areas.

The dry weather is likely to last at least another two weeks.

According to the AFP news agency, the national energy provider EDF has had to decrease production at certain nuclear power reactors because river temperatures are too high to provide adequate cooling.

There are worries that the drought, which has affected virtually all of continental France, may lower agricultural output, increasing the food crisis created by Ukraine’s conflict.

Europeans are already facing increased food costs as grain shipments from Russia and Ukraine, two of the world’s major producers, are much lower than usual.

The weather that has engulfed France since June has caused trees and shrubs to drop their leaves early, producing fall landscapes.

According to the national meteorological agency Meteo-France, France saw just 9.7mm (0.38 inches) of rain in July, making it the driest month since March 1961.

Irrigation has been prohibited throughout most of France’s north-west and south-east to preserve water.

The maize crop, which is mostly used for animal feed, is predicted to be 18.5 percent lower this year compared to 2021, according to the agricultural ministry. The primary corn-growing regions are Alsace in the east and west, and harvesting is already underway.

Corn shipments from France, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria are all likely to be reduced this year due to the warmth, pushing prices higher, according to French BFMTV.

According to TF1, livestock producers in the Alps must descend into valleys by truck every day to gather water for their animals, which adds several hundred euros to their monthly fuel expenses.

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