Finally, bouts of showers may have saved the European crops but it could not wash away the worries that global warming is badly affecting the weather in the continent.
It turned out to be a cruel April for a number of European countries. France witnesses its warmest April since 1950, Germany had its driest since 1893 and Italy’s hottest since 1800. It alarmed Italian government to such extent that they declared a state of emergency for the parched northern and central regions.
Confirmation also came from Yvo de Boer, the head of the U N Climate Change Secretariat, that the climate is changing and it’s changing to worse.
He said
The European climate certainly is changing. We’ve had a dry winter with little snow and an usually mild spring which the meteorologists are saying is very unusual.
He, however, did not shed light on whether it was because of nature’s vagary or an outcome of the greenhouse gas emission.
Though the recent shower did manage to bring down the soaring wheat price, German beer is likely to cost more because of poor harvest.
The rain also raised the water level in Rhine and Danube rivers and fully loaded cargo ships are plying once again.
Photo: Reuters