A World Meteorological Organization (WMO) report assures that much of the western United States is facing a second or third straight year of drought (depending on the region), with the possibility of increasing water stress in the coming months.
The nation’s two largest reservoirs, Lakes Mead and Powell in Arizona, are currently at levels less than 30 percent of their capacity, according to the source, citing data released by the northern country.
Portions from central Nevada to northwestern Arizona are also at critical fire risk, the US National Weather Service warned.
Across the Atlantic, the statement added, large areas from south-east central Europe to the north-west Black Sea are suffering from the lack of rain.
In the west, conditions are also favorable for the occurrence of events caused by high temperatures.
Last week, a low-pressure system between the Azores and the Madeira Islands favored the rise of warm air in the western part of the European continent with the occurrence of an unusually intense and early heatwave, the WMO warned.
He pointed out that according to the National Service of Meteorology and Hydrology of Spain, temperatures in the interior exceeded 40 degrees Celsius and even reached 43 degrees in the province of Toledo (Talavera de la Reina) in the center of the nation on June 15 and 16.
In Portugal, for example, the drought is affecting 97 percent of the country, while in recent days a temperature of 40 degrees has been reported in south-eastern France, the highest temperature recorded for this time of year in the continental Gallic territory, he deepened.
The company pointed out that the frequency of certain types of extreme weather events is increasing due to increases in global warming, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
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