Brussels

Nearly half of Europe is at risk of drought, according to a report by the European Commission's science and knowledge service (JRC).

The report, published on Monday, said that, 47 per cent of Europe's territory has reached a warning level for drought while 17 per cent of the surveyed regions were on full alert.

Researchers said dry conditions are related to scarce rain and several heatwaves from May onwards that have affected river discharges widely across Europe.

Reduced water volumes have also adversely affected the energy sector for both hydropower generation and cooling systems of other power plants.

The drought has substantially reduced yields for summer crop harvests, with corn, soyabeans and sunflowers most affected.

According to the report, regions where conditions are worsening the most are those that were already affected by drought earlier this year - northern Italy, south-eastern France, and some areas in Hungary and Romania.

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Researchers are forecasting that conditions warmer and drier than normal are likely until November in the western Euro-Mediterranean region.