Germany's farmers, foresters, and firefighters are eagerly awaiting widespread rain forecast for later this week, as a warm, dry spring has raised fears of a third summer drought in as many years. Ahead of a virtual climate meeting Tuesday for officials from 30 countries, German Environment Minister Svenja Schulze said the previous two years of dry weather, combined with overall higher temperatures, show the need for action. "We can see that the last two summers have been extremely dry, that this is already causing enormous problems for our agriculture and forestry,'' she said. "The last two years were extraordinarily dry,'' he told the Rhein-Neckar Zeitung newspaper. Last year was also exceptionally dry, causing widespread damage to the country's forests.

Source: The Standard April 28, 2020 09:33 UTC