[Anchor]
As extreme heatwaves escalate into droughts, dried-up riverbeds are being exposed in various places. The situation in Europe is said to be severe as well. With nearly half of France's waterways cut off, an emergency has been triggered not only for farming communities but also for electricity production.
Paris correspondent Kwon Yeongin reports.
[Reporter]
This is the Loire River, the longest river in France.
As water levels drop, the riverbed is clearly exposed in many areas, with weeds growing over it.
compounded by the heatwave, the water volume of the Loire River has been cut in half in just a month.
This area was originally restricted for swimming due to its deep waters.
However, the water has now receded so much that the level has dropped below the knees.
Sightseeing boats that used to navigate the river have also suspended operations.
[Denis Rimbaud / Tour Boat Operator : Actually, operating tour boats is really impossible this year. This is truly exceptional. A drought like this is truly record-breaking.]
It is estimated that 43% of some 3,200 rivers across France, not just the Loire River, have completely dried up or had their water flow cut off due to the drought.
This is twice as many as last year.
Farmers are taking the hardest hit.
The ground in cornfields is severely cracked, and the corn has withered and dried up yellow.
Pastures where cattle used to graze have completely disappeared, leaving a severe shortage of feed for livestock.
[Philippe / French Livestock Farmer : Nearly 70 to 80 percent of French livestock farms are facing a serious shortage of feed as grass has disappeared from pastures. We are using up the hay meant for winter in advance, so our stockpiles are running short.]
Projections indicate that France's corn harvest this year will drop to an all-time low, and the production volume and quality of its specialty wine are also expected to decline significantly.
The drought is also threatening urban residents.
Areas designated as water shortage crisis zones are prohibited from watering home gardens and vegetable patches.
In one town with a population of about 6,000, weakened foundations caused by the drought left cracks in about 20 houses, and even the city hall building developed fractures.
[Aurore Caro / Mayor of Meung-sur-Loire : Right now, our residents are extremely agitated. Inquiries are pouring into our city hall asking, 'Cracks are forming in my house right now, what should we do?']
Due to a lack of cooling water, two nuclear power plants in France alone have suspended operations, and other European countries such as Hungary and Romania continue to experience disruptions in power generation due to the drought.
In particular, with a total solar eclipse even forecasted for this week, solar power generation is expected to be partially reduced as well.
(Video reporting: Kim Si-nae, Video editing: Cho Moo-hwan)
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