[Anchor]

Severe heatwaves and droughts are causing massive damage not only in South Korea but also across Europe. Rivers are drying up and exposing their beds in many places, while agricultural production and power generation are also taking a heavy blow.

Here is a report from Paris by correspondent Kwon Yeongin.

[Reporter]

This is the Loire River, the longest river in France.

As the water level drops, the riverbed is clearly exposed in various places with weeds growing over it.

Combined with the heatwave and drought, the water volume of the Loire River was cut in half in just a month.

Originally, swimming was prohibited here because the water was deep.

However, the water has receded so much now that the level has dropped below the knees.

Sightseeing boats that used to cruise the river have also suspended operations.

[Denis Rimbaud / Tour Boat Operator : Actually, it's really impossible to operate tour boats this year. This is truly unprecedented. 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 waterways cut off due to the drought.

This is double the number compared to last year.

Farmers are taking the hardest hit.

The ground in cornfields is severely cracked, and the corn has withered and dried yellow.

Pastures where cattle grazed 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 also running short.]

Projections show that France's corn harvest this year will drop to an all-time low, while the production and quality of its specialty wine are also expected to decline significantly.

The drought is also threatening urban residents.

In areas designated as water shortage crisis zones, residents are even prohibited from watering their gardens and yards.

In one town with a population of about 6,000, weakened ground from the drought caused cracks to form in around 20 houses, and even the city hall building developed fractures.

[Aurore Caro / Mayor of Mehun-sur-Yèvre : Our residents are currently very agitated. Inquiries by email are flooding into our city hall, asking, "My house is cracking right now, what should I do?"]

Two nuclear power plants in France alone have suspended operations due to a lack of cooling water, 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 also expected to be partially reduced.

(Reported by Kim Si-nae | Video edited by Cho Mu-hwan)