Watch | Satellite images show how the historic drought turned lush Europe brown

A series of satellite images have revealed how Europe dried up over the months of July and August as "the worst drought in 500 years" hit the continent.

In a video posted on Twitter by the Copernicus Program of the European Union, which runs the constellation of Earth-observing Sentinel satellites, large areas of Europe can be seen changing from a lush green to a dry brown between July 1 and August 31.

"In 2022, #drought has affected the whole of Europe" tweeted Copernicus, adding "Observe how our continent has changed with this mosaic of images."

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According to reports, the 2022 drought is the greatest to affect Europe in 500 years. While the abnormally hot and dry weather has substantially raised the risk of forest fires, water levels in rivers like the Rhine, Danube, and Po plunged to such low levels that the waterways had to be closed to traffic.

Watch |Gravitas: Europe faces worst drought in 500 years

This year's summer in Europe is regarded as the driest since a severe drought struck the region in 1540.

Images available on the Copernicus website show the extent to which the drought is impacting the continent.

^{(ImageCredit: European Union, Copernicus Sentinel-2imagery)}

This image shows the acute drought as it impacts the Noordoostpolder in the Netherlands.

The majority of the land in Noordoostpolder is used for agriculture. The lack of flora has caused the region to turn brown, something that can be seen throughout the Netherlands. As per Copernicus, the region is having problems producing animal feed and has a shortage of water resources that are required by the local wildlife because of the drought and crop failures.

^{(ImageCredit: European Union, Copernicus Sentinel-2imagery)}

Another image shows Spain, which "is one of the EU Member States that is most severely affected by the consequences of the historic drought in Europe."

In Spain's Extremadura, 15 reservoirs are in an emergency situationand several water rationing restrictions have been put in place.

(With inputs from agencies)

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