New satellite images show Europe’s disappearing rivers due to drought

Drought conditions have worsened across Central and Western Europe since the start of the summer with southern England, northern Italy and parts of Central Europe among the hardest-hit areas, according to the Global Drought Observatory.

About half of Europe’s land area is experiencing drought with 9 percent reaching the alert level, including southern Germany, Hungary, Romania, Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, according to the Combined Drought Indicator for mid-July.

On Wednesday, the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre said the Loire, Po, Rhine and Danube rivers had reached record-low levels after continued hotter and drier conditions.

Al Jazeera’s Open Source Unit analysed satellite imagery showing signs of worsening drought, including retreating water in major rivers, declining soil moisture and the yellowing of green spaces in several cities.

A time-series comparison of satellite images of the Loire River near the French city of Saumur shows a clear change in the shape of the river channel during August from 2023 to 2026.

In images from previous years, larger portions of the channel appear to be covered by water while later comparisons reveal wider islands and larger sandy and gravelly areas within the river.

In an image captured on August 8 this year, substantially larger exposed areas can be seen within the channel compared with the previous images, coinciding with surrounding agricultural areas turning brown and pale.

These visual changes are consistent with the broader picture documented by the Joint Research Centre, which said the Loire had reached record-low levels in August.