“Europe's recent heatwaves are not isolated events, they are part of a clear long-term warming trend driven by climate change. Europe is actually warming faster than any other continent, roughly twice the global average, making extreme heat, droughts, and floods increasingly frequent and intense,” Ronny Berndtsson, Professor of water resources engineering at Sweden’s Lund University and Director of the Centre for Advanced Middle Eastern Studies, told AZERTAC.
According to him, these higher temperatures are dramatically accelerating the melting of European glaciers, particularly in the Alps and Scandinavia.
“Many glaciers are now losing ice at unprecedented rates, and some smaller glaciers may disappear entirely within decades. Initially, increased melting provides more runoff, but once glaciers shrink beyond a certain point, river flows during dry summers begin to decline,” the professor emphasized.
“This has major implications for water resources. Glaciers act as natural water reservoirs, releasing meltwater during warm and dry periods. As they disappear, agriculture, hydropower production, ecosystems, and drinking water supplies will face growing pressure, especially during prolonged droughts. At the same time, climate change is increasing the frequency of both severe flooding and water shortages, making water management much more challenging,” the expert said.
Berndtsson stressed that Europe has not yet reached a complete point of no return for its water resources, but for many glaciers, the loss is already irreversible on human timescales.
“ The priority now is twofold: reducing greenhouse gas emissions to limit further warming while adapting water management systems to cope with a future of more extreme and variable water availability. We need to improve the preparedness for both more flooding and more severe droughts. This can be achieved by better management of existing reservoirs and building new ones. At the same time, water use must become more efficient with less waste, wastewater must be better treated, and we must increase nature-based solutions to help the environment to cope with the new warmer climate. There is hope that everything can be managed,” the professor concluded.
