Dry river beds, hard soil, burning forests... This summer, Europe was hit by heat waves and droughts. The temperature in many places reached record highs, and the rainfall was significantly less than that in previous years. The heat wave and drought have not only affected people's daily life and ecological environment, but also brought great challenges to Europe's economy and people's livelihood. This makes more people realize the urgency of coping with climate change, but the EU's emission reduction work is now facing the challenge of energy security. Since the end of June, the heat wave and drought have hit Europe, and the continuous heat wave has made Europeans complain. The temperature in southern Europe, Western Europe and Eastern Europe has reached a record high. Hot and dry summers are the characteristics of the Mediterranean climate in southern Europe. However, Western Europe with temperate marine climate is not as cool and humid as usual this summer. According to the data, Portugal, Spain, France and some parts of the United Kingdom all experienced high temperatures above 40 ° C in July, and the United Kingdom exceeded 40 ° C for the first time. Families in Western Europe generally do not have air conditioning, and people can only endure the heat. The weather is hot and the rainfall is obviously less than that in previous years. Some parts of Europe have experienced drought. Part of the Loire River in France has almost completely dried up, and some canals have been closed. The Rhine River is one of the golden waterways in Europe. According to the data on August 16, the water depth of its section flowing through Cologne, Germany, has been less than two meters. The water level of the Po River, the longest river in Italy, hit a record low. This summer, boat tours in some sections of the river were suspended. According to the data recently released by the European drought observation website, about 63% of the European Union and the United Kingdom have issued drought warnings or warnings. The heat and drought caused frequent mountain fires. The mountain fire in southwest France has been rapid in recent days, and the spread of the fire has forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate; As of August 15, a fire about 60 kilometers northeast of Alicante, Spain, has destroyed about 6500 hectares of forest, and about 1200 people have been evacuated. According to the data of the European forest fire information system, from January to mid August of this year, more than 740000 hectares of forests in the European Union were burned, a record high since the relevant records began in 2006. Meteorologists of the joint research center of the European Commission recently warned that the drought in Europe in 2018 was the most serious in the past 500 years. This summer is not over yet, and it is expected that the drought this year will probably exceed the level in 2018. The drought has impacted people's livelihood and economy. The heat and drought have caused many impacts on Europe, of which agriculture has been the most direct impact. In the Po River region of Italy, the serious drought has dried up the paddy fields. Local farmers estimate that this year's rice harvest may be "halved". The German farmers' Association recently warned that under the continuous drought, we should be vigilant against crop failure and price rise. If it does not continue to rain as soon as possible, the harvest may be reduced by 30% or 40%. The drought has also seriously affected inland navigation in Europe. Many barges need to transport coal for power plants and raw materials for steel, chemical and other industrial enterprises. However, due to the drop of water level, the barges on the Rhine can only operate at 25% capacity. Lilis, a German environmental technician, told Xinhua that the water level has dropped to the critical point where the navigation is almost cut off. "The high temperature has dried up the water.". Ensuring energy security is Europe