Recent summer droughts in Europe were the most severe the region has seen in 2,110 years as climate change has stoked punishing heatwaves, according to new research that raises the alarm for ecosystems and agriculture.
According to a new study published in the journal Nature Geosciences on Monday, March 16, the drought of the last five summers in Europe has been the most severe in 2,110 years, posing a serious threat to the continent’s ecology and agriculture.
Using data from tree rings in living and dead European oaks going back to the time of the Romans, scientists identified a long-term drying trend that suddenly intensified in 2015 beyond anything seen in two millennia.
The researchers said that this cluster of abnormally dry summers was likely caused by human-driven climate warming and changes to the circulation of the jet stream.
Researchers examining the trunks of living and dead oak trees dating back to the Roman Empire have concluded that the 2,000-year-old continental drought has accelerated significantly since 2015 compared to the last 21 centuries.
Researchers believe that the increase in drought in Europe is likely due to global warming as a result of human activities and a noticeable change in the direction of the “jet stream” or strong, concentrated winds in a narrow path in the Earth’s atmosphere.
“Global warming does not mean that all parts of the world will be warmer and drier,” said Ulf Bontgen, an environment professor at the University of Cambridge who led the study. The main consequence is the occurrence of more and more severe weather events and in some areas more rain and cold. “In any case, the consequences of global warming are dangerous for the ecosystem and agriculture and for human societies in general.”
He added that the study showed that the persistence of extreme heat in the summer of the last five years, especially in Central Europe, has had an extraordinary impact.
