This image of the Italian peninsula was captured from the International Space Station in June 2022, shortly before the country declared a state of emergency because of devastating heat and drought.
ESA/NASA via BloombergHeat and Drought Force Europe to Accelerate Climate Adaptation
Observation satellites are being deployed to help farmers, utilities and supply chains adjust to persistently hotter and drier weather.
The record heat and drought hurting European farmers, power utilities and insurers foreshadows even faster change to the continent’s climate, with scientists warning that feedback loops from a drying Earth likely will lead to dangerously high temperatures again this year.
The European Union’s newest climate assessment, published Thursday by its Copernicus Climate Change Service, shows how scientists and policy makers are preparing to adapt to life on a hotter planet. The bloc’s spending billions of euros on new Earth observation space missions focused on helping its 450 million-person economy hedge against decreasing arable land, shrinking water levels and more wildfires.