Weather update: Drought and Floods

Europe

Europe has two events happening at the same time.

  1. An unprecedented (something that has never happened before) drought over large parts of Europe, primarily Western Europe. The temperatures are also exceptionally high. You might remember our coverage in July 2022.
  2. Because of the Russia Ukraine war, the supply of gas to Europe is limited and expensive.

Europe depends on imported gas for its energy needs. This keeps the carbon footprint of Europe low and keeps its air clean since very little mining activity happens here.

However, this also means that in times of emergency, Europe has to look for alternative suppliers quickly.

Parts of Asia

Pakistan, China, parts of India are dealing with floods.

Pakistan has declared a national emergency after 30 million people were affected by these floods, primarily in Sindh, Balochistan, and southern Punjab provinces. International aid has started arriving in Pakistan and many countries, including India, have regretted the loss due to floods.

In India, parts of Himachal, Uttarakhand, Karnataka and other states saw flood related damage. Rescue operations are underway by all the defence and rescue forces.

In Southwest China, most of the summer months this year were hot, leading to a heatwave and drought condition. The Yangtze river almost dried up.

However, this week, over 100,000 citizens have been moved to a safer area because of an imminent (imminent: something that is likely to happen) flood.

United States

There is a flood warning in Mississippi(capital city) and the mayor has requested citizens to evacuate the area as quickly as possible.