Soil drought reaches lowest level in Europe since 2018

At the beginning of January, soil drought affected 19.6% of European territory and the Mediterranean coasts. Last year at the same time, this figure was 35.1% of the territory studied.

No water shortage on the horizon. Soil drought fell at the beginning of January to its lowest level since April 2018 in Europe and across the entire Mediterranean coast, according to data from the European Drought Observatory (EDO) analyzed on Wednesday January 24 by AFP.

From January 1 to 10, 2024, soil drought affected 19.6% of European territory and the Mediterranean coasts. This proportion fell below 20% for the first time in six years. Last year at the same time, drought affected 35.1% of the territory studied.

The European indicator, updated approximately every ten days, is based on anomalies in precipitation, soil humidity and the state of vegetation, according to regions and types of climate. On the other hand, it does not take into account the level of water tables.

An improvement in France

In 2023, soil drought reached a peak in Europe in mid-June, with 49.2% of land affected, then it reached a new peak in early October at 42.6%, before decreasing. Over the whole of last year, the indicator remained above 40% for less than three months, compared to more than seven months in 2022, which had been an exceptionally dry year.

For France, this improvement was accompanied by an improvement in the groundwater situation. More than half of them were above normal last December, according to the Bureau of Geological and Mining Research (BRGM).

The Mediterranean rim, in chronic lack of rain, however remains in great difficulty, particularly in Roussillon where “soil drought (…) will be unprecedented for the end of January”, warned Météo-France.