Destroyed crops, riverbed cyclists and a ‘Rock of Starvation’: how drought has devastated the Danube

 

Kürti rode for 30km along newly-exposed beds of the Danube

 

 

by Lorenzo Tondo in Hungary. Photographs by David Levene

 The Guardian travelled 100 miles along the EU’s longest river, where some residents are struggling to secure drinking water

 

For centuries, the rock was seen as a warning. When it began to emerge from the Danube, beneath Gellért Hill in Budapest, it meant the river had fallen so low that floating mills could no longer operate, crops were probably failing, and hunger would almost certainly follow. That is why, in the Hungarian capital, where over time the boulder became little more than a legend, it was named Ínség-szikla – the Rock of Starvation.

Today, amid record-low water levels on the Danube, the rock has not only emerged from the water, but surfaced almost in its entirety, along with the sandy riverbed on which it rests, astonishing geologists and government scientists sent to examine it. And, much as the rock was said to warn, Hungary is now facing an unprecedented energy crisis that has forced the country to shut down all but one of its Danube-cooled nuclear reactors for the first time in 44 years.

The Guardian travelled for more than 100 miles (160km) along the banks of the Danube, the EU’s longest river, which sustains the 10 countries it crosses, visiting villages and towns where residents are struggling to secure drinking water and farmers are fighting to keep their crops alive.

 

Pócsmegyer

Last week, the Hungarian prime minister, Péter Magyar, warned that the economic damage caused by this year’s drought was expected to surpass that of the historic dry spell that devastated Hungary’s farmland in 2022.

István Somogyi has lost nearly 50% of his harvest this year

 While the full extent of the losses is still difficult to assess, István Somogyi, a 56-year-old farmer from Pócsmegyer, a village on the Danube, in Pest County, has already done his calculations.

 

“I’ve lost nearly 50% of my harvest this year and it could go up to 70%,” he said. “It’s gone. Everything has dried up. Since I started farming this land after the end of communist rule, I’ve never seen a catastrophe like this.”

Somogyi said the unprecedented crisis did not come out of nowhere, and that the heatwaves and droughts of previous years had already offered a warning. Scientists say that human-caused climate breakdown is making every heatwave in the world more intense and more likely to happen.

“You could see this coming,” he said. “The harvest was already poor last year. But we were lucky because the Danube stayed high. Despite the intense heat, there was still enough water in the soil. This time, there is no hope of saving our crops.”

On the near-deserted roads running alongside the river, families with children sought relief in the Danube’s shallow waters, while, not far away, military water tankers were siphoning water from rural wells, hauling vital supplies to the storage pools that feed the local grid.

 

Szentendre

Low water levels in the Danube at Szentendre

 Across the river from Pócsmegyer, on the opposite bank of the Danube, lies Szentendre, a town known for its community of artists. During the most intense days of the heatwave, some evening performances have been held by candlelight in an effort to reduce electricity consumption.

Aerial view of a long boat filled with people in shallow water

 Here, in recent weeks, vast, desert-like islands have emerged. The exposed riverbed is cracked like a mosaic of hard, dry clay, baked by suffocating heat that has pushed temperatures in Budapest close to 42C, with overnight temperatures hitting a high of 28C. Europe is warming faster than any other continent, with intense summer heat and prolonged drought being amplified by the deepening human-caused climate crisis. Extreme conditions continue to fuel wildfires and strain water supplies.

József Gulyás stands in front of stocks of bottled water being kept at the town hall in case of supply shortages
 

In some stretches of the Danube near Szentendre, it is now possible to walk through it with the water barely reaching above your ankles.

“Swimming and navigation are banned here,” said László Balázs, 44, head of the local river rescue service. “But people escaping the heat still enter the water, unaware it can suddenly drop into deep pools where they risk drowning.”

At the end of June, Budapest police (BRFK) said three people had gone missing in the Danube over a single weekend. Water police later recovered one body near Iváncsa, while searches continued downstream for the other two missing swimmers.

The drought and resulting disruption to energy supplies have also left some Hungarian towns struggling with shortages of drinking water. In a room inside Szentendre’s tourist information office, thousands of bottles of water are stored ready to be distributed, particularly to elderly and vulnerable residents.

 “About 4,000 to 5,000 households were left without water,” said József Gulyás, 62, Szentendre’s deputy mayor. “We distributed 25 tonnes of water and received about 100 emergency calls a day. We had never experienced anything so serious. Elderly women would hug the officers delivering water and burst into tears.”

 

Budapest

A geologist takes advantage of the low water levels to view the ‘Rock of Starvation’

 Driving from north to south, towards the Hungarian capital, Budapest, where the level of the Danube under normal conditions reaches an average height of 2 to 3 metres, and can rise as high as 8 metres, intense summer heat and continuing drought conditions caused the river to fall to a record low of just 14-19 cm on 4 August.

 

The water levels have fallen so dramatically that, as the Danube has retreated, it has revealed a succession of relics long hidden beneath its waters, including the remains of a woolly mammoth, a bridge destroyed after the second world war in Budapest, a Nazi warship and an unexploded British bomb.

Tourists and passersby look down over the side of the Liberty bridge in Budapest. The remains of an older bridge can be seen the shallow waters below.

 The water is so low in the capital that on 28 July, at about 4.30pm, Gábor Kürti, president of the Magyar Kerékpárosklub (Hungarian cyclists’ club) and owner of a cargo bike company, left his office in central Budapest, jumped on his bicycle and, in an unprecedented feat, rode for 30km along the exposed bed of the Danube, with his journey quickly going viral on social media.

 

“I wanted to show that if you can cycle along the bed of the Danube for 30km, it means that, because of this climate emergency, we have literally hit rock bottom,” he told the Guardian.

Riding his KTM X-Strada 20 gravel bike, Kürti set off from the mouth of the Szilas stream (Szilas-patak) and made his way across fine gravel, large pebbles, hard-packed sand and mud, eventually reaching the ferry terminal at Vác about three hours later.

“For many people it was an extraordinary adventure. For me, it was heartbreaking,” he said. “Cycling through parts of the river where, as a child, I used to swim or go kayaking, and which I could now cross on a bicycle, filled me with an indescribable sadness. It was like looking at the scene of a terrible accident. Throughout that journey, the scale of the catastrophe was unfolding before my eyes.”

 

Nagytétény

The Kis-Háros-sziget island nature reserve is usually only accessible by boat but is now reachable by foot, as low water levels in the Danube have exposed the river bed connecting the island to the mainland

 

Kürti took the Guardian into what, until only a few months ago, was the striking floodplain forest in Nagytétény named Kis-Háros-sziget, a protected area home to climbing plants, wild vines and several families of European beavers.

The river is reached by walking across ground that would normally lie several metres beneath the water. Here, one branch of the Danube has receded so dramatically that it came to an abrupt halt, blocked by an exposed riverbed left behind by the drought.

Its dry, clay-like surface looks like an image from a future shaped by the escalating human-caused climate crisis. Yet this is happening now. Passersby walk across what was once the river, their feet sinking into patches of mud. Kayakers struggle to make their way through the remaining shallow channels; many eventually give up, lift their kayaks on to their shoulders and walk home.

Hungarian authorities have been pumping water into large areas of the country’s nature reserves such as the one in Nagytétény, to keep marshlands from drying out as the drought intensifies.

 

Paks

Hungary’s only nuclear power station, in Paks near to the banks of the river Danube

 Continuing south, the road finally reaches Paks, home to Hungary’s nuclear power plant, its towers rising above the horizon. Here, municipal workers have been working weekends to keep more than 700 threatened trees alive and water the town’s flowerbeds.

 

Szilvia Farkas: ‘I have never seen so much vegetation dry out in all my years doing this job.’

 

“I’ve been doing this job for 18 years,” said Szilvia Farkas, 39, who is employed by Dunakom Zrt in Paks, owned entirely by the municipality, to plant and water trees and plants. “I have never seen so much vegetation dry out in all my years doing this job, and I have never worked as hard as I have this year to try to keep it alive.”

Dunakom Zrt uses its own drilled well for water extraction. In addition, the company is able to extract water from a decantation basin. The public is not permitted to use tap water for irrigation at the moment; instead, residents collect greywater and use it to water their gardens.

In the country’s more marginalised and deprived areas, the water crisis has compounded longstanding problems for thousands of people who were already living in difficult conditions before the drought, struggling with inadequate access to running water and sewage systems.

Géza Orsós Renáta, 43, who lives with her four children in a small farmhouse on the outskirts of Paks, has never had access to running water. Orsós, who also works for Dunakom Zrt, helping to water public green spaces drying out in the heat, has long relied on water from a neighbour.

Géza Orsós Renáta is helping to water public green spaces drying out in the heat

 

“Even in winter, we have to pump water and heat it in large bowls so we can wash,” she said. “Now a friend brings us water once a week. But it is becoming unbearable.”

Driving back from Paks, tall, swollen clouds occasionally gather on the horizon in the clear skies above Budapest, appearing to promise the return of rain, only to fade by evening, dashing the hopes of an entire country.

For now, people can do little but cling to the hope that the Rock of Starvation will disappear once more beneath the currents of the Danube, returning to the depths of the river and becoming little more than a legend again.

But Somogyi, who grew up hearing the story of the boulder passed down through generations, and who is now witnessing the consequences of the warning it was said to foretell, knows it will not.

“The drought will return next year,” he said. “That is the trend. And there isn’t much that we can do.”

  Zsuzsa Borbély contributed to this report

Dozens injured and thousands evacuated in Croatia wildfire

 

by Zahra Fatima

 

At least one person has died and around 40 others have been injured after a severe wildfire tore through cities on Croatia's coastline overnight into Friday.

The blaze broke out near the village of Lokva Rogoznica on Thursday evening, and spread quickly towards the nearby tourist town of Omis, 6km (seven miles) away.

Around 1,200 residents and tourists were evacuated, while 10 people were in intensive care in hospital, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said. Croatia's fire chief Slavko Tucakovic described it as "one of the worst" blazes in the country's history.

Croatia is one of several European nations suffering devastating wildfires during a summer of extreme heat and dry conditions.

Villages near the Adriatic city of Split were struck by the blaze, which coursed through pine forest-lined hillside, causing extensive damage to homes and cars.

Tucakovic said the firestorm burned through "everything in their path" as officials confirmed flames, fanned by strong winds, engulfed 1,000 hectares (2,471 acres) in just four hours.

More than 300 firefighters were deployed overnight on Thursday, with crews sometimes forced to retreat as the fire advanced.

Footage shared online shows thick smoke and huge flames tearing through surrounding vegetation, turning the sky red, as stranded residents and tourists looked on.

 Some people were forced to jump into the sea from boats to escape the fire.

 

The wildfire has been described as "one of the worst" in the Croatia's history

 

Emergency shelters were opened in several towns along the coast, as evacuations continued through the night.

On Friday, officials confirmed that a body had been discovered in a burnt-out area as emergency services continued searching affected zones.

Later on Friday, Plenkovic visited the affected area, telling reporters there that the fire had spread at "lightning speed" and with "gale-force winds", adding that what firefighters had managed to save was "truly a miracle".

The commander of Omis Volunteer Fire Department, Viseslav Pesic, told Reuters that the blaze was so intense that people had abandoned vehicles "directly in the fire zone", making it difficult for emergency crews to pass through.

Bystanders watch as a wooden area is engulfed in flames during a raging wildfire near the town of Omis

Firefighters across Europe have been facing intense pressure and a strain on resources as serious wildfires continue to rage across the continent, fuelled by extreme heatwaves.

In Agios Vasileios in Greece, more than 200 people were evacuated by boat from a beach resort after wildfires raged across the country, while more than 500 residents were forced to leave their homes because of a fire in the south-western Landes region of France, near to an area already devastated by wildfires.

More than 2,000 people were also evacuated from the village of Gey in western Germany after a forest fire spread towards a village near the Belgian border.

Meanwhile, an emergency wildfire alert was sent to millions of people in England and Wales on Friday, warning of the "very high risk" of wildfires nationally, as firefighters continue to battle multiple blazes in the West Midlands.

Mudança climática já causa prejuízos para economia da Europa

 

Colheitas como a do girassol já registram prejuízos com ondas de calor e seca, reforçadas pelo aquecimento global

by  Redação DW

 Calor recorde e seca tiveram impacto sobre produção de energia, transporte fluvial e saúde pública. Clima pressiona PIBs da região, que deve enfrentar queda no crescimento.

 

As temperaturas extremas dos últimos dois meses na Europa, durante o verão no Hemisfério Norte, já deixam à mostra o potencial impacto econômico das mudanças climáticas. 

A seca e o calor recorde – ambos exacerbados pelo aquecimento global, apontam os cientistas – causaram prejuízo na produção de energia, no transporte fluvial e na saúde pública sobrecarregada, enquanto a atual temporada de incêndios florestais caminha para se tornar a maior já registrada no continente.

No total, a repercussão sobre a economia da região já pode ser medida em centenas de bilhões de euros, estimam economistas e acadêmicos. Eles alertam que os custos deverão subir ainda mais rápido do que os termômetros na Europa, onde o clima está mudando a passos mais rápidos do que no resto do mundo.

A Europa Ocidental registrou os meses de junho e julho mais quentes já observados, com temperatura média de 21,62 °C , informou nesta segunda-feira o Serviço de Mudanças Climáticas Copernicus, da União Europeia (UE). O número ficou 2,79 °C acima da média de junho do período entre 1991 e 2020.

"O que torna 2026 particularmente preocupante do ponto de vista econômico é o fato de haver múltiplos episódios de eventos extremos", disse a economista Sehrish Usman, da Universidade de Mannheim.

A previsão dos economistas é que os danos provavelmente superarão todos os níveis anteriores. Os prejuízos a setores específicos se capilarizam ao pressionar as finanças públicas, provocar fortes oscilações na inflação, redesenhar o mapa do turismo e forçar a Europa a repensar a forma como produz energia e transporta mercadorias.

Pressão sobre PIBs 

Assim como em junho e em parte de maio, as condições em julho foram mais secas do que a média em muitas regiões da Europa. Áreas da Península Ibérica, França, Alemanha, Áustria, Hungria e Reino Unido foram particularmente afetados, segundo o Copernicus. 

A navegação nos rios Reno e Danúbio, artérias fundamentais para o transporte de cargas, está severamente limitada devido ao baixo nível das águas. Mais de meia dúzia de reatores nucleares tiveram suas operações interrompidas ou reduzidas por dificuldades de resfriamento, também em razão da seca.

A paralisação do transporte no Reno, por si só, reduzirá o Produto Interno Bruto (PIB) da Alemanha, terceira maior economia do mundo, em 0,3 ponto percentual neste ano, estimou o banco ING. Já o MBH Bank, da Hungria, calcula um impacto de 0,1 ponto percentual no PIB para cada semana em que a maior usina nuclear do país permanecer fora de operação.

As estimativas para a produção agrícola, enquanto isso, foram revisadas para baixo. As culturas colhidas mais tarde no verão, como milho e girassol, já registraram perdas de 6% a 7% em julho.

A umidade da camada superficial do solo na Europa Ocidental em julho ficou significativamente abaixo dos níveis observados durante julho de 2022, quando o continente também enfrentou uma seca severa.

"À medida que os solos secam, eles perdem sua capacidade de proporcionar resfriamento natural, permitindo que o calor se acumule com mais facilidade", afirma Samantha Burgess, do Copernicus. "Este é um exemplo claro de como as mudanças climáticas estão intensificando os episódios de calor extremo, com calor e seca reforçando-se mutuamente de forma cada vez mais frequente."

 

Queda do crescimento

Ao mesmo tempo, os custos das ações emergenciais, como o combate a incêndios ou a redução do consumo de energia, pressionam orçamentos públicos. O calor intenso pressiona também a saúde pública: somente a Alemanha registrou mais de 10 mil mortes relacionadas às altas temperaturas.

Apenas a onda de calor de duas semanas registrada em junho – houve quatro ondas de calor excepcionais desde a primavera, segundo o Copernicus – reduzirá o PIB da Europa em 0,3 ponto percentual, previu, por sua vez, a seguradora alemã Allianz. Além disso, as mudanças climáticas devem cortar entre 5% e 7% do crescimento econômico até 2030 nas economias mais expostas, como Espanha, França e Itália.

"A conta total deste ano será muito maior", aponta Hazem Krichene, economista da Allianz. "Esse número não inclui os incêndios, as secas, diferentes episódios de enchentes ou o esperado fenômeno El Niño."

Considerando que a zona do euro deve crescer apenas 1% neste ano, o impacto é significativo. Ainda assim, a extensão completa dos danos econômicos só será sentida vários anos depois, segundo Usman.

"Seria de se esperar que os danos fossem maiores no ano em que ocorre um evento extremo e depois diminuíssem, mas encontramos justamente o contrário", afirmou. "O impacto econômico cresce nos anos seguintes porque os eventos climáticos extremos desencadeiam uma série de consequências econômicas mais lentas."

Impactos maiores no Sul

O Sul da Europa pode sofrer os maiores impactos, já que os picos de temperatura são mais intensos nessa região, reduzindo receitas do turismo, agravando perdas agrícolas e estimulando a migração para outras áreas.

"Você consegue imaginar turistas caminhando pelo sul da Itália ou da Espanha com 45 °C? Eu não. Por isso, acredito que a natureza do turismo vai mudar", disse o economista Carsten Brzeski, do ING.

Calor extremo poderá impactar negativamente o turismo de verão nos países do Sul da Europa, que movimenta a economia regionalFoto: Francesco Fotia/Avalon/Photoshot/picture alliance

Segundo os especialistas, os países do Sul poderão receber mais turistas ao longo de todo o ano. Mas os picos de verão devem diminuir à medida que viajantes optem por destinos mais ao norte, afetando o setor de hospedagem e turismo da região.

Os eventos climáticos extremos deverão também aumentar o preço dos alimentos, complicando ainda mais a tarefa do Banco Central Europeu (BCE) de manter a inflação na meta. A tendência é que as áreas mais quentes sejam as mais impactadas.

Segundo estimativas de Maximilian Kotz, pesquisador do Barcelona Supercomputing Center, o calor extremo de 2022 elevou a inflação da zona do euro em 0,34 ponto percentual por meio do aumento dos preços dos alimentos, com impacto desproporcional sobre os países do sul.

Ao mesmo tempo, a interrupção do transporte fluvial dificulta o abastecimento de combustíveis em partes da Europa, ampliando as diferenças regionais de preços.

Risco de endividamento público

A Allizanz estima ainda que a redução anual de receitas tributárias causada pela perda de atividade econômica pode chegar a 1,8% na França e a 1,3% na Itália e na Espanha. 

As margens de lucro das empresas também devem diminuir, reduzindo investimentos e ampliando as perdas econômicas. Ao mesmo tempo, os custos aumentam, tanto porque os governos precisam financiar respostas emergenciais quanto porque precisam investir em medidas de adaptação, como tornar mais resilientes a geração de energia e as rotas de transporte.

"Uma preocupação central é que os países ainda dependem excessivamente de respostas emergenciais improvisadas, que são caras e frequentemente pouco eficientes", afirma Heather Grabbe, pesquisadora sênior do centro de estudos Bruegel.

Mas os investidores podem reagir negativamente caso os governos tentem ampliar os gastos. Os níveis de endividamento já são elevados, especialmente na França e na Itália.

"Com uma lista tão longa de necessidades de gastos, a tendência será de aumento do endividamento público", disse Brzeski. "Isso poderá significar pressão sobre o BCE para intervir novamente e ampliar os programas de compra de ativos caso ocorra uma venda repentina de títulos nos mercados."

O BCE, ao longo da última década comprou trilhões de euros em títulos da dívida pública para manter baixos os custos de financiamento quando a inflação estava abaixo da meta.

ht/cn (Reuters, dpa)

New Colorado River plan will require steep cuts for three states as reservoirs tumble to new lows

A person stands at an overlook near Lake Powell's Wahweap Marina on July 14. John Locher/AP

by  Laura Paddison

 

California, Arizona and Nevada will be required to slash their water use from the drought-stricken Colorado River by 16 to 20% through 2028, under a federal plan set to be released in the next few days, according to a senior state water official.

But some fear it won’t be enough to save the lifeblood water basin as vital reservoirs plummet toward record lows.

The cuts will mark the latest stage of a long-running effort to figure out how seven basin states should share the depleted water of the Colorado River. They’re coming after years of fraught negotiations between the states have not managed to produce a deal, as the river system spirals further into crisis.

On Friday, the US Bureau of Reclamation published its final environmental impact statement, a 10-year operating framework for the waterway under which the lower basin states of California, Arizona and Nevada could face collective cuts of up to 3 million acre feet per year — enough water to supply roughly 9 million average US families. 

 “This framework provides the flexibility to respond to changing hydrologic conditions while preserving the opportunity for the Basin States to continue working toward durable, consensus-based solutions,” said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum in a statement Friday.

 The framework provides for specific operating plans to be developed every two years. Federal officials are expected to publish the first of these in the coming days, which will specify the exact cuts required of states through 2028 — anticipated to be around 20% for the lower basin. The upper basin states of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming are not expected to face mandatory cuts. 

Farms are seen in Yuma, Arizona, in April 2023. Will Lanzoni/CNN

 

The Colorado River is the lifeblood of the Southwest. It irrigates more than 5 million acres of farmland, generates enough electricity to power around 700,000 homes and provides water for 40 million people. However, it has shrunk dramatically over the past 25 years after years of heavy use and as climate change delivers hotter, drier weather and dwindling snow. Today, 95% of the basin is in drought.

The combined water level in Lake Powell and Lake Mead — the most important Colorado River reservoirs and two of the biggest in the United States — fell to a historic low last week. 

 Colorado River water is divided between states under the 1922 Colorado River compact, which allots 7.5 million acre-feet of water yearly for the four upper basin states and another 7.5 million for the three in the lower basin. But as water levels dwindle, states have been trying to work out how to get by with less. 

 The lower basin states have historically used the most water, primarily to support their vast farms and booming cities. Over the past few years, the three states have proposed cuts in their water use but want the upper basin states to share in the pain

A boat cruises near Sentinel Island in Lake Mead on July 25.en the seven states on water rights and usage. Ethan Miller/Getty Images

A formerly floating buoy sits high and dry in Lake Powell on July 15. John Locher/AP

People ride a golf cart beneath a protruding dock that was used during higher water levels at Lake Powell's Antelope Point Marina on July 14. John Locher/AP

 The upper basin states — which, unlike the lower basin states, cannot be compelled by federal authorities to cut their water use — have resisted mandatory cuts, arguing that climate change has reduced water availability and the cuts should be shouldered by the more water-intensive states

 

The current agreement governing the operation and management of the Colorado River, which came into force in 2007, expires this year and a February federal deadline for the states to reach a new agreement came and went with no deal.

Experts fear the current plan won’t be enough as the water crisis deepens. Last winter was one of the driest, warmest winters on record for the western US, leaving the region in a snow drought

 Lake Mead appears on track to tumble to its lowest level on record as early as next week, and Lake Powell may do so next month. Lake Powell could potentially fall so low by spring 2027 that it reaches “minimum power pool” level, meaning its dam will no longer be able to generate hydropower, according to a July report from the Bureau of Reclamation.

 

There are fears that the issue may end up the subject of lengthy and expensive court battles. Arizona in particular has been rattling the litigation saber. The state is likely to get saddled with the steepest cuts during times of shortage due to a deal it made in the 1960s, but its needs are huge to feed sprawling farms and industry.

The new framework “does nothing to elevate expectations around a coherent seven-state plan for shared sacrifice,” the Arizona Department of Water Resources said in a statement Friday, saying the reductions proposed “would devastate Arizona’s water users and its economy.”

States will still be able to carry on negotiations in the meantime, and any agreement could supplant the federal plan. 

‘Stop all outdoor activities’: South Korea records its highest ever temperature

Women use portable fans to cool off at the Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul in July. South Korea has recorded its hottest temperature and issued a heat alert. Photograph: Jade Gao/AFP/Getty Images

By Mark Saunokonoko

 Authorities issue alert saying indoor spaces without airconditioning are ‘dangerous’ as temperatures pass 40C for fifth straight day 

South Korea has registered its highest temperature since records began more than a century ago, as authorities warned people to “immediately” stop all outdoor activities in affected areas.

The south-eastern city of Yangsan saw the temperature reach 42.5C on Sunday afternoon, the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said, the highest temperature reported since modern weather observation began in 1904.

Yangsan has been the centre of an ongoing heatwave, where temperatures exceeded 40C for a fifth consecutive day on Sunday, while many other cities including Daegu and Busan are seeing temperatures climb into the high 30s.

 

People gathered in airconditioned shopping malls or cafes to escape the blistering temperatures. Others sought relief under mist-spray zones set up in Seoul. Ju Dong-yeol, 27, took refuge from the heat in a Starbucks in the South Korean capital, along with his parents and told AFP “it is too hot to be outside doing anything”.

“I can’t think of anything else to do other than stay in airconditioned places like home, shopping malls and cafes,” the office worker said.

 

The city of Gyeongju, about 240km south-east of Seoul, reached 40.3C on Sunday, its highest recorded temperature in eight years.

North Korea has also faced punishing heat, with temperatures soaring as high as 40C in some regions, state media reported on Monday. Residents in Pyongyang have endured a week of nights where the temperature has not dropped below 25C.

More than 20 localities in South Korea were under emergency heatwave alerts on Sunday – a new warning category introduced this year to better address rising temperatures. An emergency alert is issued when areas experiencing a heatwave are forecast to hit perceived temperatures of 38C or an actual temperature of 39C for the day.

Workers harvest strawberries under parasols to protect against the scorching sun in Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. Photograph: YONHAP/EPA

 

Issuing a heat warning, the weather agency urged people to “immediately stop all outdoor activities”, adding that “indoor spaces without air conditioning are dangerous”.

“Move immediately to a cool place, such as a designated cooling centre or a shaded area, and stay hydrated while resting,” it advised.

Fearing for those people most vulnerable to heat, the prime minister, Han Seong-sook, ordered local officials to strengthen safety checks on residents and to ensure a stable power and water supply was maintained.

Easterly winds are expected to push the extreme heat further inland on Monday, with Seoul forecast to reach 37C. “Temperatures in South Jeolla and South Gyeongsang are expected to exceed 39C, bringing extreme heat at life-threatening levels,” the KMA said.

People stand in a mist-spraying zone to cool off on a street in Seoul. Photograph: Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Images

 

Officials are also monitoring Typhoon Dolphin, which is now tracking towards China’s south-east coastal regions, south of the Korean peninsula, and could dictate how long the stifling heat persists.

If the typhoon moves towards eastern China, it could increase humidity and potentially worsening the heatwave and tropical nights in Korea, the KMA said. But a path closer to the south of the peninsula could bring stronger winds, greater cloud cover and rain, temporarily easing the heat.

KMA data show the average annual number of heatwave days in the country has more than doubled to 19 in the past five years.

A heatwave day is defined as one with a maximum temperature of at least 33C.

South Korea’s professional baseball league was forced to cancel one game in Changwon after the city’s temperature climbed to 39.5C, marking the second consecutive game cancellation in the city.

“The decision was made with the safety and health of spectators and players as the top priority, as a severe heatwave warning remains in effect for the Changwon area,” said the Korea Baseball Organization in a statement.

Scientists warn that extreme weather events such as heatwaves are becoming more frequent and intense as a result of human-induced climate change.

Adding to the extreme weather is the return this year of El Niño – a natural climate phenomenon that warms Pacific Ocean surface temperatures and typically occurs every two to seven years.

With Agence France-Presse

Dead trees and searing-hot benches: Rome’s multimillion-dollar cooling piazza shows the challenges of brutal heat

Tourists shield themselves from the sun near the Pantheon in Rome on July 10, 2026. Xinhua News Agency/Getty Images

by  Barbie Latza Nadeau

  

Rome — 

The new trees meant to provide much-needed shade in Rome’s Piazza Risorgimento were burnt to a crisp. Benches in dark plastic and wood were searingly hot. Several of the large flower pots had been gutted of their foliage entirely. The bushes lining the entrance were a burnt orange color.

This park, under the shadow of St. Peter’s Basilica, was supposed to be a green oasis for tourists and locals alike, but when CNN visited earlier this week it looked parched.

The central square was revamped in 2024 with a 14 million euro ($16 million) budget as part of the preparations for the Vatican’s Holy Jubilee — 4 million euros ($4.6 million) of which went toward the plan’s lush green trees, fountains, ample seating around the square and removal of pavement. But extreme heat, coupled with insufficient irrigation, has led to dead trees, no shade, and seating too hot to sit on.

The city of Rome says it will replace the trees and upgrade the irrigation system. Some of the dead foliage has been cut down in preparation for the new trees’ arrival.

“We are constantly learning how to deal with the changing weather,” Edoardo Zanchini, director of the city of Rome’s Climate Office, told CNN, admitting that the revamped piazza should have been planted with different trees. “We have to constantly think about who is in the city at the hottest time of the year — the elderly and young, the tourists and residents.” 

Withered trees in Piazza Risorgimento, Rome, Italy on June 27, 2026. Barbie Latza Nadeau/CNN

Dried-up plants in the piazza's planters, June 27, 2026. Barbie Latza Nadeau/CNN

 On Wednesday, the day after CNN published its video story about the square, Rome’s Councillor for Agriculture, Environment and Waste Management, Sabrina Alfonsi, posted a video of herself in the piazza, wielding a yellow garden hose and watering recently planted flowers.

 

“In the last few weeks there has been a lot of talk about the plants that were put here, and it’s true, some of them have struggled during an exceptionally intense heatwave,” she said. “Today, as you can see, they’re being looked after and are healthy.”

She referred to criticism of the condition of the square from right-wing opposition politicians, and said it was ironic given many of them have denied climate change for years.

Combating climate change-driven extreme heat has become a top priority facing European cities this summer as parts of the continent have been roiled by a succession of heat waves. Providing adequate shade, building cooling centers, removing asphalt and adding more trees are among the solutions advocated for by climate activists and urban planners. But, as Rome’s piazza shows, it is hugely challenging to build for brutal heat, which arrives earlier, lingers longer and is more intense. 

 In southern Europe, where summers are always hot, heat plans have become necessary — and expensive. Rome has committed to spending around 50 million euros ($58 million) over the next five years to create spaces where everyone from homeless people to tourists to kids in day care can find relief.

 

Only 56% of Italian homes have some form of cooling system, so the city is trying to give people access to air-conditioned venues. Last week, Rome introduced an initiative opening movie theaters for free during the hottest time of the day to give people a chance to cool off.

Over the past few years, Rome has installed hundreds of “water houses” — green kiosks with waterspouts and phone charging stations — to provide free cold water, both still and sparkling, to make sure people stay hydrated. They are a modern take on the roughly 2,500 cast iron “nasoni” water fountains put in place in the 1800s to provide free water across the city. 

People line up to refill their water bottles at a public water dispenser near the Colosseum in Rome on July 4. Andrea Ronchini/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

 

Joanne Waverly, a tourist from New York City, told CNN she didn’t realize Rome would be so hot at night. “I envisioned the afternoon siesta sleeping in my air-conditioned hotel room and going out at night, but it almost feels hotter than during the day,” she told CNN as she filled her bottle at a water house next to Piazza Navona. “The cement and cobblestones radiate heat, and the temperatures don’t even go down. I have no idea how people live here!”

Waverly has taken to early-morning sightseeing; others are seeing the city late into the evening. Venues including the Pantheon and Colosseum are offering new nighttime opening hours, from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., to allow people to visit when the sun isn’t blazing. 

 

Rome mayor Roberto Gualtieri says trees and green space are key to his government’s heat plan. “The intensity of heatwaves is no longer an exception but the rule,” he said when announcing the city’s heat plan earlier this month. The plan will see thousands of trees planted, with a focus on the hottest districts, where many people don’t have, or can’t afford, air conditioning.

“Rome cannot stand still in the face of impacts that risk overwhelming key infrastructure, undermining urban livability and hitting the most vulnerable residents the hardest,” Gualtieri said.

Rome, like many other cities, has de-paved asphalt streets, replacing surfaces with solar reflective coverings and porous materials, and has introduced more “climate shelters,” like the free movie initiative and other up air-conditioned venues where people can gather.

Construction workers carry air conditioning units in Rome on July 10. Xinhua News Agency/Getty Images

 

But there have been false starts beyond just Piazza Risorgimento. Plans to trial a giant bioclimatic “tree” at the city’s main train station — a huge steel structure intended to bring down temperatures by evaporating water and releasing cooler air — have fizzled out after coming under scrutiny for cost and aesthetic reasons.

Still, the city says it’s committed to figuring out how to adapt to unprecedented heat. 

 

“It’s a challenge that we have no choice but to combat,” Zanchini, the city’s climate chief, says. “The city is changing, but we learn from the ancient Romans who knew how to combat the heat with shade and water and use common sense.”

This story has been updated with additional information. After this story was published, the Mayor of Rome’s office told CNN that of the 14 million euro budget for Piazza Risorgimento, 4 million euros was spent on the trees, plants, benches and removal of pavement.