2st
PART
HISTORICAL
DROUGHTS
Droughts in Europe :
It is in 1303 that there was the most important
drought of millennium. It was possible
to walk across the dry Rhine.
Other
droughts were in 1540, 1719, 1874, 1906, 1911, 1921, 1945,
1947, 1949, 1953, 1957, 1964, 1976, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991,
1992 and 2003. It's from 1922 to 1952, that the France has
experienced a very strong warming in the summer due to southerly
flow repeatedly.
In 1788, in France there has been a terribly
dry spring and summer, which compromised the crops.
In 1911, it was the
only year of the century which has exceeded 95°F (35°C)
during the months of July, August and September in Paris (32
days above 86°F (30°C) in Paris and 53 days in Marseille
! ).
In 1921, it was recorded
only 200 mm of rain in Nancy and 278 mm in Paris. The drought
lasted all year. This summer has really been even drier than
1976 in France.
In 1949, the summer
started earlier. It had already recorded more than 86°F
(30°C) in April in the northern half of France, and the
drought has lasted all summer with extremely high temperatures.
In 1976, the drought
was so important that everyone remembers as one of the worst
drought years of the late 20th century in Europe (see below).
In 1994, July and August
had 56 days of temperatures above 86°F (30°C) at Marseille-Marignane
and 60 days of temperatures above 86°F (30°C) in the
Luc with 31 days in July.
In July 1950, in Luc
there were 19 days above 95°F (35°C) a record still
not beaten.
In July 1983, in Carpentras
there were 15 days of temperatures above 95°F (35°C)
and 11 days in Marseille.
In 2003 from March
to August, higher than the 1989 drought was installed in Europe
(see below).
This year, beginning
in December 1975 until August 1976, monthly precipitations
were often deficient in the majority of French regions. Consequences,
the water tables weren't charged. The drought was especially
intense in the northern half of the country, while in contrast
the Mediterranean was more strongly affected by excess rainfall.
This is due to the warm anticyclone usually covering the Sahara
and the Mediterranean countries, made up of dry tropical air,
which grew up and parked in northwest Europe and thus deviated
depressions to the south. From 12/01/1975 to 06/30/1976, it
fell only 121 mm of rain in Paris against 304 mm on average.
This drought has halved cereal crops.
-
2003
A prairie transformed into straw in Lozere (France)
This year was also
very warm and dry in many areas. Rainfall was deficit from
50 to 75% in the East, East-Central, and Southeast of the
France, which statistically that happen 2-3 times per century...
Drying of soils and plants was higher than in 1989 or 1976
when it was hot and dry too. Large forest fires occurred in
southeastern France (more than 700 hectares of burned forest),
in Italy, in Croatia, in Spain (715 hectares burned in the
region of Madrid) and the Portugal. In Romania, near Bazias,
the water level of Danube had declined : it has reached a
level of 1,50 meters, so more than one meter below the minimum
level required for the navigation of barges. It reached its
lowest level since July 1953 and several convoys of barges
have failed in the Romanian sector of the river. In Austria
the precipitations were 30% and 80% below the usual level.
In France from 1 to 15/08/2003 with strong
heat waves in Paris the thermometer had climbed up to 102,2°F
(39°C) then 100,4°F (38°C) in
Bordeaux and 102,2°F (39°C) in Gourdon. In Karlsruhe
(Germany) the thermometer reached 100,22°F (37,90°C),
in the Southwest. In Switzerland, it was 100,04°F (37,80°C)
in Geneva and this is only the second time that the city has
reached such temperatures since the beginning of weather records
in 1864.
The 08/13/2003, the
water of the Mediterranean even rise up to 86°F (30°C)
compared with 75,2°F (24°C) of average during the
10 days of heat wave, which has never been measured.
06/11/2003 a heat wave hit Europe.
Restriction measures in 76 french departments.
They include watering
gardens, washing cars, filling swimming pools and irrigation
of crops.
Precipitation in France from 02/01/2003
to 06/30/2003
Report period 1946/2002 percentage
|
|
15-40 % |
drier than usual |
|
40-60 % |
|
|
60-80 % |
|
|
80-100 % |
|
|
100-125 % |
|
|
125-160 % |
more drizzled than usual |
The gradual warming of the Earth's atmosphere
should increase the frequency and severity of droughts according
scientists, and greatly increase the number of days of heat
waves in cities.
Thirties was a dry period with severe dust
storms causing major ecological and agricultural damage to
American and Canadian lands (Millions of acres of farmland
became useless,
). It's the Dust Bowl drought. The drought
was in three parts, 1934, 1936, and 1939-1940, but some regions
of the High Plains experienced drought conditions for as many
as eight years. In july 1934 the drought covered areas at
79,9% of the US.
During the 1950s, there were severe droughts.
From 1950 to 1957, Texas experienced the most severe drought
in recorded history. In California natural lakes were dry
completely in 1953. In 1954 the drought encompassed a ten-state
area reaching from the mid-west to the Great Plains, and southward
into New Mexico. In july the drought covered areas at 60,4%
of the US.
During the 1980s, drought was not only the
costliest in US history, but also the most expensive natural
disaster of any kind to affect the US. The drought, beginning
along the west coast and extending into the northwestern US,
had its greatest impact in the northern Great Plains. In 1980
and 1983 the Northeast US, Corn Belt and Midwest States are
affected by the droughts. In 1980, a heat wave began in June
with temperatures which soared to 90°F (32°C) almost
every day from June to September. In Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas,
from June 23 to August 3 high temperatures exceeded 100°F
(38°C) a total of 69 times, including a record 42 consecutive
days. The drought and heat wave created water shortages in
many towns etc. From 1987 to 1989 the drought worsened. It
covered 36% of the United States at its peak. The drought
of 1988 became the worst drought since the Dust Bowl 50 years
before in the United States.
From 2012 to 2014 western US is affected
by a drought. More than 94 percent of California remains in
"severe" drought, and 55 percent of the state is
in "exceptional" drought. Its area was comparable
to the droughts in the 1930s and 1950s. That has inflicted
catastrophic economic ramifications for the affected states.
Click
here to enlarge this graphic of Percent area of the CONUS
in
moderate to exceptional drought, January 4, 2000 to present,
based on the U.S. Drought Monitor, source NOAA
WARNING
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