Photos Show European Fishers on the Brink as Summer Drought Parches Rivers, Lakes and Farms
Record heat and drought have cut fish production by millions of euros and forced emergency water measures across farms and waterways, officials said.
- Hungary's Agriculture and Food Economy Ministry reported last week that persistent heat and water shortages caused 1,588 hectares of fish ponds to dry out, killing nearly 280 metric tons of fish at 20 farms and inflicting $4.2 million in losses.
- Around 99% of Hungary's lands face severe or extreme drought, while prolonged water shortages have ravaged ecosystems from Slovenia to the Czech Republic, Romania, and Bosnia, threatening agriculture and aquaculture across the region.
- In eastern Slovenia, firefighters pumped 8 million liters of water into Lake Pristava to prevent mass suffocation. Serbian fisherman Dusan Jovanovic warned that water temperatures over 30 degrees Celsius threaten local fish stocks.
- Catalin Platon, president of the ROMFISH National Association of Fish Producers, alleged that water-use policies prioritizing irrigation for agriculture left farmers with insufficient water for fish. Producers warn replacing lost stocks could take years.
- Scientists have tied recent extreme weather events to human-induced climate change, prompting countries and businesses to evaluate strategies to mitigate future devastation. Long-term water retention measures are now essential across the region.
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32 Articles
My Mother Lode
Europe’s summer drought threatens fish in rivers, lakes and farms
NOVI SAD, Serbia (AP) — Small boats stand idle on cracked ground in a shriveled side channel of the Danube River in northern Serbia, where the water has receded into a couple of shrinking ponds under pressure from extreme drought and heat. Fish circle in the shallow waters. “This is all we have, these two...
Associated Press News
Europe's summer drought threatens fish in rivers, lakes and farms
Extreme drought and heat have severely impacted the Danube River and surrounding regions. Fishermen in northern Serbia report that the river has receded, leaving only small ponds with dangerously high water temperatures.
Small boats remain motionless on the cracked soil of a dry side canal of the Danube River, in northern Serbia, where water has been removed to become a couple of smaller and smaller ponds under the pressure of extreme drought and heat. Fish are spinning in shallow waters.
The current historical drought in Europe threatens an economic impact of up to 180 billion euros. Water scarcity paralyses nuclear reactors and withered crops on the continent. Read
Rivers and farmlands across Europe are drying up rapidly due to record-breaking heatwaves and droughts. As crops wither and water levels in major rivers drop to all-time lows, shipping and nuclear power plant operations are facing disruptions.
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