Photos: UK, Europe drought dries up rivers, kills fish, shrivels crops

A plant sprouts between the cracked ground of La Vinuela reservoir during a severe drought in La Vinuela, near Malaga, southern Spain. A prolonged dry spell and extreme heat that made last July the hottest month in Spain since at least 1961 left Spanish reservoirs at just 40% capacity in early August, well below the ten-year average of around 60%, official data shows.

An aerial photograph shows dried-out fields at the Euston Estate farm outside Thetford. England is officially in a drought across vast swathes of the country, the government's Environment Agency has announced, as another heat wave intensifies and water companies impose restrictions on household use.

Members of the public cross what was an ancient packhorse bridge exposed by low water levels at Baitings Reservoir in Yorkshire as record high temperatures are seen in the UK, Ripponden, England, Friday, Aug. 12, 2022. Low water levels at the reservoir have revealed the remains of the ancient road flooded to build the pool in the 1950s. Parts of western, southern, central and eastern England were put into "drought" status following the National Drought Group meeting on Friday. According to the Met Office, England, generally associated with drizzly weather, recorded its driest July since 1935. It faces a new reality of heat waves and pressure on the water supply in the summer months.

People watch the dry Galardi river in Ascain, southwestern France. France was amid its fourth heat wave as the country faced what the government warned was its worst drought.

Sheep flock walk on a dry and dusted shore of Danube's branch "Borcea" in Coslogeni village, southern Romania. The Danube flow entering Romania dropped to 40% of August's usual flow. According to the forecast issued by the National Institute of Hydrology and Water Management, the flow at the entrance to the country will decrease slightly, reaching around 1900 m3/s in mid-August. The drought slows down the transport of goods on the Danube, the water level being in some places two meters below normal levels. Several ships shipwrecked for this reason. In order not to suspend the transport of goods on the Danube, Romania is also dredging in the Bulgarian area after the neighbouring country abandoned the works.

The dry bed of Brenets Lake (Lac des Brenets), part of the Doubs River, a natural border between eastern France and western Switzerland, as much of Europe bakes in a third heatwave since June. The river has dried up due to a combination of factors, including geological faults that drain the river, decreased rainfall and heatwaves.

An Epping Forest sign stands on burnt ground in the Wanstead Flats after a grass fire, in London, Friday, Aug. 12, 2022.

A boat lays on the dried lake bed in Velence, Hungary.

The dried riverbed of the Po river in Sermide, Italy. The river Po runs 652 kilometers (405 miles) from the northwestern city of Turin to Venice.

People take a stroll on the river bed of the Waal as water levels dropped because of drought in Nijmegen, Netherlands.

A goose looks for water in the dried bed of Lake Velence in Velence, Hungary.

People walk in the Jardin des Tuileries, in Paris. France is this week in the midst of its fourth heat wave of the year as the country faces what the government warned is its worst drought on record. Temperatures in the south of the country are expected to reach up to 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).