China, Europe, US drought: Is 2022 the driest year recorded?

Image source, Getty Images

Europe and parts of China have experienced extreme temperatures this summer, dry conditions in Africa have put millions at risk of starving, and the American West continues to see a lack of rain.

The past few months have been the driest on record, but are likely to become the norm.

Scientists use satellite imagery to measure the level of water in the soil as a measure of the severity of the dry spell.

We compared these dry conditions over the past three months to average conditions since the beginning of the century to build up a picture of how recent weather patterns have been.

The soil conditions and temperature data are used to create a map of the soil's moisture content.

We can see that most of Europe has had a very dry summer.

The west of China has been very dry. The US and parts of Africa are experiencing dry weather.

According to the EU's environmental programme, this summer's dry spell may be the worst in 500 years.

Almost half of Europe was affected by a "soil moisture deficit" in late August.

The dry conditions this year have affected agriculture, transport and energy generation, and scientists say climate change means Europe will experience more frequent and persistent droughts in the future.

Shipping was disrupted this summer due to the low levels of the Rhine.

A report by the EU in August predicted at least three more months of "warmer and drier" days after the period between June and August was the hottest on record.

Recent years have seen hotter summers with many high temperature records.

"We have had consecutive droughts for the last five years, and this year is the worst Europe-wide dry spell in hundreds of years," says Dr Fred Hattermann, of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.

The soil has decreased because it's got much warmer.

According to the China's Meteorological Administration, this summer was the longest since records began in the 1960s.

China's biggest river, the Yangtze, shrunk because of extreme heat and a lack of rain. There was less rain in the river's drainage area in August.

Heavy rains in the north of China caused flooding despite large areas in southern China struggling with dry weather. The water level of the Liao River was the second highest in the last fifty years.

China's annual climate change study says there has been an increase in the amount of rain.

The Chinese government issued a lot of warnings in July. There were more than 30,000 warnings of heavy rain in the year 2019.

Climate change is caused by seeing both wet and dry conditions.

Peter Gleick is a water specialist from the US National Academy of Sciences.

The UN warns that 22 million people could be at risk of starving due to the lack of rain.

According to the charity, we are in the third year of very low rain and high temperatures.

In the last six decades, the March to May season has been the driest on record. Large parts of Uganda have experienced very dry conditions.

In some countries, such as South Sudan, there have been floods.

Parts of southern Africa have experienced more rain than normal.

According to a World Bank report in 2021, the number of floods and droughts was three times and ten times greater than in 1970.

The western US has experienced years of dry and hot weather.

In a report published in February, scientists said the last two decades had seen the most extreme dry conditions in 1200 years.

Forest fires were caused by hot and dry weather this summer.

Lake Powell, which straddles Arizona and Utah, is at its lowest level in over 50 years.

Climate models show that the region will have less rain in the future.