Heatwaves and drought in Europe | DW Documentary

[Music] europe's forests are going up in flames from the south of france to the far north of scandinavia three years of drought in a row have all but dried up groundwater reserves across the continent the soil is bone dry up to three meters deep dust storms on the outskirts of berlin we haven't seen subsequent years of drought like we did in 2018 and 19 for the last 250 years not to mention 2020. lakes have dried up and deserts are forming in romania and southern spain [Music] these days everyone agrees there is a pressing need for research water is becoming an economic consideration research shows that poor decisions in agricultural and forestry policy have hastened the drought the fact that those droughts are also so intense and so destructive is also to some extent homemade [Music] germany and france were hit by extreme heat waves and poultry rainfall from 2018 through 2020 europe is dealing with a phenomenon that is usually only seen in desert regions drought at the helmholtz center for environmental research in leipzig a drought monitor has been gathering data since 2014 the computer model keeps track of soil dryness throughout germany to think that we've been facing a climate as dry as 2020 and 2021 for three years in a row we were expecting this to happen due to climate change much later perhaps in 2040 or 2045 but not now farmers are struggling making only meager harvests in many parts of germany potato farming is only possible with irrigation there simply isn't enough water to sustain agriculture and drought years have been becoming more frequent over the past decades we had some problems with heat and drought in 2003 but the hardest hit areas were france and the mediterranean region that was the first time we saw 15 billion euros in damage in the agriculture sector alone aside from agriculture the forests are suffering as well throughout europe vast regions are plagued by dead and dying trees germany's tunin institute has been observing germany's woodlands since 1984. it provides the government with an annual report on the state of the nation's forests our forests are in historically poor condition when studying the state of our wooded areas we see that spruce trees are dying out at an abnormally high rate this is something we've never seen before i think all experts agree that spruce trees at lower elevations have no chance of surviving but the beech trees are also at historic lows all species are affected but those two are hardest hits it's a grave situation [Music] experts point to climate change as the overriding factor my biggest concern is the speed of all this change it's comparable to millions of years ago when the meteorite smashed into the earth climate change is hitting now with the same brutality as back then but now we are the meteorite smashing into earth [Music] but climate change alone isn't responsible for the droughts that have battered europe over the past 20 years the dry spells are sparked or at least exacerbated by the misuse of natural resources especially the destruction of topsoil humanity's very existence impacts weather conditions this creates vicious cycles in which heat leads to drought and drought leads to more heat in the end forests can no longer perform one of their most important duties absorbing co2 the climate killer produced in part by humans but there are novel ways to solve the crisis some are already being implemented by policy makers agriculture and forestry experts as well as researchers forest fires are one of the worst consequences of drought though they're common in the mediterranean brush and forest fires are spreading as far north as scandinavia regions that previously were not widely affected satellites and surveillance flights monitor woodlands in southern france 24 hours a day colonel mark dumas has been fighting fires in the region for decades forest fires are nothing new but what we're seeing now is a higher number of much more violent infernos our fire season used to last for two and a half months now the first blazes break out in the spring and sometimes we don't put the last one out until the fall and in recent years regions much further north have also been affected forecasts show little hope of improvement the number of major fires will almost certainly rise firefighters are already being deployed in regions far from their headquarters and they're lending international support as well we're now concerned about mega fires huge fires that reach levels far beyond what we're used to a fire that burns 10 000 hectares in france is considered big we're afraid that soon there will be blazes that far exceed that possibly 100 000 hectares such a scenario is increasingly likely the global average temperature today is 1.38 degrees centigrade over the average of the 19th century the consequences are already clearly visible in europe's warmest regions rivers and lakes are drying up and deserts are emerging lake nuntashi in southeastern romania for example it covers an area of almost 1 000 hectares the water surface is shrinking more every year and during some summers it dries up completely romanian environmental activist octavian berchanu has been observing the desertification example is not an isolated incident there are comparable cases throughout southeastern romania this proves that climate change is having an impact far beyond our expectations and is moving at a much faster rate and as the lake turns to desert the fish amphibians insects waterfowl and plants are dying as well in addition the regional microclimate is it will changing get worse climate change means that temperatures are rising but also that crop yields will fall drastically the water surfaces that produce the humidity needed will soon be gone but again climate change isn't the only culprit agricultural policy decisions are also to blame [Music] we're on during our way regime a massive lake was purposely dried up and converted into farmland now that area can no longer sustain agriculture it has dried up and turned into a vast area of sand it's a scenario that played out repeatedly across the former communist east block half a century ago romanian dictator ceausescu ordered the creation of new farmland to reap the largest possible harvests with the few available machines his plan included drying up the 100 000 hectare potelu lake by damming off tributaries the transformation of what used to be an entire lake into farmland that was a communist inspired project that had no scientific basis what we have now is the exact opposite of what was intended namely the desertification of southern romania the agricultural benefits were short-lived the muddy remnants of the lake bottom were initially fertile but were used up quickly once it was gone only sandy ground remained even during the spring rains the only thing that grows here now is oat grass ever since the surrounding forests were cut down to produce new farmland the wind blows the sand into areas that still have productive soil mila the hectare represents the thousands of hectares here pose a constant threat desertification is expanding year by year the desert is migrating towards bucharest and our most fertile agricultural regions a similar story played out in former east germany huge agricultural areas were created and farmers were forced to join production cooperatives that became known as the lpg massive fields were created devoid of irrigation ditches woods or boundaries so that big machines could be brought in and harvest yields increased but the plan wasn't thought through without forests or hedges there was no shade there was also no protection from the wind which now swept across the fields blowing away topsoil and drying up moisture nothing has changed since the wall fell except that the fields are now in private hands the state of brattenburg sees sandstorms every summer like this one captured in an amateur video grains such as corn and animal feed are harvested in the massive former lpg fields most of it is grown in monocultures the european environmental bureau in brussels represents a network of 170 environmental organizations from all european countries the fact that those droughts are also so intense and so destructive is also to some extent homemade in that we have [Music] we have created a farming system which does not have resilience in the face of climate shocks because we have very specialized very intensive uh farming production of single crops and definitely we have a big share of the responsibility for the situation that we are in today those single crops are monocultures corn is a popular one monocultures put a severe strain on topsoil a regular rotation of crop species would benefit the ground but often that doesn't happen because the farmers cater to their regular customers so for instance if there is a biogas plant nearby farmers don't change crops as frequently so the same crops are grown in the same fields and as the soil gets leached out the farmers compensate by adding fertilizer to replace the lacking minerals all to the detriment of microorganisms it's the microorganisms that allow the ground to better store water zep brown is an organic farmer in freising near munich he's devoted a lot of special attention to his farmland over the past 34 years he takes regular samples from his 58 hectares of property today's sample comes from a field he uses to grow feed for his cows it's hard to believe that more microorganisms live in this handful of soil than there are people on the planet these microorganisms range from single-celled organisms to centipedes fungi bacteria algae and so on they create a healthy and fertile soil brown doesn't use pesticides or artificial fertilizers instead he rotates crops and grows green plants that bind nitrogen it ensures that the microorganisms have perfect conditions to thrive and as you can imagine sand can't store water any moisture runs straight through so there's nothing left for plants in fertile soil plants grow deeper roots zep brown says that his hay harvest didn't suffer during the drought years just the opposite we had significantly higher yields over the past two years than in seasons where there was lots of rain when the sun shines the plants use photosynthesis to grow in my case the rich soil lets plants grow deep roots that averted any negative impacts from the drought still organic farming makes up less than 10 percent of germany's farmland in france it's only 7.5 percent soil leaching also has to do with the kind of plants being grown half of germany's arable land is used for production of animal feed [Music] the problem is the continuing popularity of meat products and it's a booming export business as well particularly pork meat producers need an expensive feed in order to keep costs low for consumers and for export markets and this is where european agricultural policy comes into play the single largest eu budget item is farm subsidies larger than all other economic sectors the outlay comes to 60 billion euros annually for the most part each eu member state decides for itself how those funds are put to use and which percentage will go to promote organic or industrial farming germany distributes most of its share through land subsidies farmers receive an average of 280 euros per hectare of arable land there's no bonus for those who use environmentally friendly methods the organization environmental action germany reinhard bening is the group's spokesperson and consultant for agricultural issues she's trained in agribusiness and has been working for various environmental protection groups for years 60 of germany's agricultural land is used to produce animal feed so the eu's flat rate premium actually benefits the meat and dairy because it's subsidized feed is cheaper to produce in germany than in countries without such subsidies so the price of feed will rise if we cut some of those subsidies and use them to support environmental protection projects instead the meat and dairy industry wouldn't like that it needs massive amounts of raw materials to fully utilize its production capacities and for the export markets so market forces determine which crops are cultivated sustainable production with healthy soil would mean more effort higher costs and higher meat prices which the industry is trying hard to avoid higher prices would mean a drop in lucrative exports therefore the fields continue to be sprayed with fertilizer and pesticides and the crops are harvested with industrial machinery the soil stores less water because so few microorganisms survive and all that farmland becomes more and more susceptible to drought this year the eu will negotiate procurement guidelines for agricultural subsidies that will be in effect through 2027 celia nissens has worked as a representative for a number of environmental groups and has advised many politicians but she says that agribusiness lobbyists far outnumbered her what we're seeing is that this new common agricultural policy will by and large continue to spend public money in the same way as it has for the last decade um most of the money will continue to go to farmers with very little if any green strings attached and then the little environmental money that there will be is too little to turn the tide when actually three quarters of the budget will be supporting business as usual it's unrealistic to hope that the quarter that's left will will really make a big difference one extreme example of how business as usual has led to drought conditions is almeria in southern spain in 2004 eu subsidies contributed to the planting of 400 hectares of olive groves in this semi-arid climate [Music] today olives are harvested here and german and french supermarket chains are the biggest customers [Music] david dean lives in the region he's an environmental activist and u.n expert for project earth jurisprudence he's been a vocal critic of the olive plantation for 20 years he shows us the withered bone dry soil yeah dusty dusty dusty dusty dusty dry the olive trees only survive thanks to drip feed irrigation we have six million trees all at the same time on drip feed irrigation taking around about 10 liters per tree so we look at that we're looking at about 60 000 tons per day now the aquifer which is supplying all this water is over exploited to the extent it is running dry david dean meets with geologist jose maria calafora a professor at the university of almeria this nature reserve forms the headwaters of the rio de aguas river in turn the river feeds underground water reservoirs throughout the region but now the spring produces only a thin trickle just a few years ago measurements showed a rate of 45 liters per second my measurement shows that the flow rate from the source is 23 liters per second the underground water reservoirs are being sucked dry by industrial irrigation pumps [Music] the problem is that the water stores can't be replenished so right now the farms are using 400 more water than is flowing in that means that four times more water is being pumped out than is flowing in we are heading towards the complete destruction of one of the largest aquifers in our province the olive plantation is just one of many examples of failing agricultural policy in the region here the mar del plastico or plastic sea covers 350 square kilometers it's a sprawling expanse of greenhouses scattered throughout the plastic tar pollens and the produce it grows supplies supermarkets all over europe we're talking about the driest region in all of europe it produces and transports vegetables to europe in other words we're shipping them water let me explain a kilogram of tomatoes or melons or whatever is equivalent to 10 liters of water this region really needs water but we export it to europe that's the dilemma the region of europe with the least water exports it to other countries consumers can buy inexpensive fruits and vegetables but the greenhouses use up almost all of the region's groundwater an entire ecosystem is being destroyed a homemade drought we have lost the native vegetation that once grew here this leads to exposure of the soil and it's lost to erosion this is how desertification begins the certification past political miscalculations in forestry and agriculture supported by generous subsidies from brussels those mistakes lead to the destruction of microorganisms which can trigger or amplify droughts but this doesn't explain why so little rain has fallen on the continent to gain more insight one must again look to climate change the global warming associated with climate change also leads to desertification as well as changing weather conditions across europe climate change has also led to the phenomenon that the north pole is warming more than the equator that changes the differences in air pressure which alters the jet stream so the jet stream is stronger in the north and south in turn weather patterns over germany are becoming more stable and this means that extreme weather systems spread more frequently the polar jet stream is an enormously strong wind which blows from west to east at an altitude of 10 to 15 kilometers global warming is weakening the jet stream as a result it shifts that makes it harder for high pressure systems associated with sunny weather and low pressure systems that bring rain to alternate as usual as a result dry hot periods have become longer in the last 20 years and rainfall has decreased not only does the weakened jet stream deliver extremely dry summers rainfall was also far below average from 2018 to 2020 a dying forest at the outskirts of berlin poor forestry decisions some of which were initiated as long as a hundred years ago are bearing bitter fruits in these times of extended dry periods monocultures are highly problematic because they're susceptible to storm damage and pest infestation woodlands cover one third of the surface space of france and germany an estimated 90 billion trees grow in germany alone half of those are spruce and pine both species are showing signs of heavy damage plant biologist pierre ebish is a professor at the university for sustainable development in ebersvalda in the state of brainburg he estimates that 60 percent of pine trees have already sustained damage i fear the true dimensions are still being underestimated many of the trees will die slowly especially as these cleared out areas emerge next heat waves and droughts will impact the remaining forests much harder germany's federal statistical office estimates that 60 million cubic meters of wood was damaged in 2020 due to the drought that's six times the yearly average these monocultures of pine spruce and other conifers are on their way out we have to bid them farewell it's been clear for some time and is even more clear now after these extreme years as the trees have died off across wide expanses ultimately this poses more than an ecological risk it's also an economic risk for and his team at france's national research institute for agriculture food and environment created an experimental forest near perpignon in southern france they're trying to find out if forests can still fulfill their most important function during droughts that is extract and store climate harmful co2 gas from the atmosphere co2 is commonly referred to as greenhouse gas in france alone it's estimated that plants store between 15 and 20 percent of the greenhouse gases produced by humans so it plays an important role woodlands are our most important ally in the fight against global warming this fact makes the findings of simeone and his team even more alarming record high temperatures were recorded during the 2019 heat wave especially in southern france during that period we made an exciting discovery the forest changed from a storage place for co2 to a source of co2 emission it was only after the heatwave dissipated that the forest became a carbon reservoir again normally plants not only store co2 but also release it in small quantities but the research team found that the extreme heat turned that ratio on its head plants gave off more co2 than they stored french meteorologists fear that could create a vicious cycle [Music] we expect a continual rise in temperatures in the future as a result of the increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere we're already observing this trend and it's likely to intensify in the coming years if we don't reduce greenhouse emissions if temperatures continue to rise we can expect drier soil and possibly further droughts most eu nations have pledged to become climate neutral by 2045 in an effort to limit the effects of global warming nevertheless droughts will become more frequent in the coming years now it's up to policymakers agriculture and forestry leaders as well as the scientific community to find viable solutions these include more robust plants better soil protection seawater desalination and genetic engineering take wine production for example it's one of france's most important export products at nearly 9 billion euros thierry simoneau is researching the wine of the future [Music] right now we are losing an average of 15 to 20 percent of our production to drought that endangers the survival of vineyards that are already barely profitable it's not just the meager harvests the quality of agricultural products also suffers from heat and drought mostly the dryness affects the grapes in such a way that also changes the fermentation process under these conditions we harvest a product that doesn't meet the wishes of the vintner nor the consumer the taste of the wine is becoming flatter and it contains too much alcohol [Music] scientists are testing which types of grapes can cope better with the heat what effect does the condition of the soil have and what happens if the vines are protected from the sun how to prevent leaves from releasing too much moisture at night the main problem is that scientists can't introduce new types of grapes they would have a different taste that consumers aren't accustomed to in southern spain the high water use by olive vegetable and fruit farms has become a major problem while farmers in the plastic seed do use tarpaulins to limit moisture loss and employ drip irrigation to maximize water coverage together the greenhouses on this 350 square kilometer area use more water than is even in the natural reservoirs this has been a growing problem [Music] to solve this farmers irrigate their crops with sea water from desalinization plants the problem with that is the enormous cost of energy needed for the desalination process solar power is used to provide more and more greenhouses with processed seawater [Music] back in germany there's still no solution for the destruction of the forests professor pierre ebish and his students are investigating whether the forests can be logged and simultaneously preserved as a co2 reservoir we really have to rethink forest management it's not that we can't harvest timber anymore but we must keep our woodlands alive it's all about keeping the ecosystem balanced and that is getting harder and harder we know that the past years of extreme weather were an advanced warning this could become the new normal in the future it may even worsen then doing things the old ways won't work anymore because of the drought in 2020 three times as much timber was logged off as usual once the trees are cut down roots and branches are usually cleared away and new trees planted but things are different at this test site after a recent fire all of the charred trees were left in place professor ebish wants to find out what forestry management of the future could look like here the dead wood stores water dissipates heat and helps regenerate the forest the soil is being revitalized there are mushrooms growing and a wide variety of insects and microorganisms we can already see how humus actually forms here and how the soil is covered with moss and other things all this together increases water storage and we urgently need that for the weeks or even months when there is scant rainfall when it does rain it provides opportunities for new trees to grow then 100 kilometers from bucharest a businessman is setting an example for how to invest in renewing the soil this land was a forest in the 1970s the green lung of the romanian capital but under the communist regime it was cut down and today about all that thrives here is dust clumps of grass grow during the spring rains eco activist octavian berchanu meets with forestry entrepreneur dan popescu on his own initiative he's been searching for a solution trying for years to grow a new forest in this desert this area has clearly succumbed to desertification now is the time to intervene if we don't act now our grandchildren will blame us for not doing anything we'll have to reply that we could have done something but we didn't respect the ground consists of nothing but sand two to three meters deep rain water runs through it like a sieve but mulberries and acacias thrive in these adverse conditions popescu has planted 13 000 hectares worth so far he planted this forest over 20 years ago now humus is forming an elixir of life for plants he's created a new ecosystem summertime temperatures are very hot in our region but temperatures drop dramatically in and around the woods by three to four degrees celsius and in the shade the difference between the forest and the surrounding area can reach as much as 25 degrees the eu has also been looking for solutions and intends to support a wider array of ecological projects programs like the green deal more subsidies for converting to ecologically friendly methods and the farm to fork strategy which promotes regionally grown products the eu parliament has already approved these measures but member states are responsible for implementing programs as before most of the funds will flow into farm subsidies the real problem with this new responsibility and flexibility for member states is twofolds on one hand it's the fact that they know that they will have the money no matter what they do they have no obligation to ensure that this money is spent effectively they have no targets to reach and to prove that they have achieved so it's essentially you know free money do more or less what you want with it the other problem is that this is all entirely in the hands of agriculture ministers who have proven for the last few decades that they have no interest in tackling environmental problems and environmental ministers have a very limited say in this policy the eu's programs may be a feasible solution but are they economically viable will implementation of these policies still ensure enough food on the table for consumers at an affordable price if we switch to 100 organic farming right now food prices would rise especially but at the same time we'd reduce the price we pay for water quality control and things like that so with organic farming the average cost would be lower than with industrial farming with its massive external costs those external costs include government subsidies financed by the taxpayers to compensate for losses from drought-related crop failures ten years ago zep brown began to look for ways he as a farmer could react to the increasingly dry climate he planted an agroforest there were initial costs for planting the trees but what hurt most is that he no longer received subsidies for the fields he forested still his idealism paid off in the long run his crop yields have increased offsetting the loss of arable land on which his trees now stand brown believes he's well prepared for the dry spells to come the next day the next drought will show us very clearly which farms are prepared for climate change and which aren't the next drought will also show that agricultural subsidies have been wrongly distributed on a colossal scale over the past years especially when you look at the challenges posed by climate change we need to do some quick thinking before the next drought arrives of course the simplest solution would be to irrigate the fields so farmers would be able to save some of their harvest but irrigation has already sparked regional conflicts such as in southern spain and also in some german towns and cities where drinking water is running short in summer months because farmers are using it on their fields at the friedrich alexander university in erlangen researchers may have found a short-term solution i believe we have to adjust crops to droughts and higher temperatures we no longer have access to unlimited water supplies that means we can't simply water the fields more if we do we won't have enough drinking water and the crop yields will continually shrink vinegar genetic engineering may offer a solution in the fight against drought it's already in use to generate higher yields and protect crops against pests now scientists are working on heat resistance professor sonewald has found that potato plants produce more seeds when there's a lack of water this process can be overridden with gene intervention [Music] potatoes react to heat by delaying the formation of tubers we have found the switch so we can override this delay so the plants we've produced through genetic engineering can form tubers despite high outside temperatures genome editing switches off only one messenger substance it's considered a very mild or precise form of genetic modification i think green genetic engineering would be part of the solution such complex problems won't be solved by one single technique climate change is an enormous challenge and we are only talking about a small part of the problem green genetic engineering will contribute to an overall solution the question is whether we want that here in europe i don't know but worldwide for certain of the world clearly all potential solutions have their pros and cons and many of the problems are already being addressed forest conversion has begun water is being handled more carefully there's a climate target and there's growing awareness that all of us can and must contribute we have to do everything we can and not just in germany the world must radically change agricultural practices to put more focus on the soil and on nature itself together we can find ways to use soil plants and animals to overcome these challenges [Music] [Music] [Music] you

Channel: DW Documentary

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Keywords: Documentary, Documentaries, documentaries, DW documentary, full documentary, DW, documentary 2021, documentary, drought, Europe, climate change, Green New Deal, forest, sustainable, lobbying

Id: lT8z5e408Og

Length: 42min 26sec (2546 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 30 2021