Spanish farmers warn of crop failures due to drought.

Drought now affects 60% of the Spanish countryside, with crops like wheat and barley likely to fail entirely in four regions, the main Spanish farmers’ association said. Spain’s long-term drought is causing “irreversible losses” to more than 3.5 million hectares of crops. The lack of available water was further impacting the ability of farmers to irrigate corn, sunflowers, rice and cotton, likely leading to reduced sowing of these crops over the summer. Ranchers will struggle to feed cattle due to dried-up pasture, and beekeepers will face the third consecutive season without honey. Spain as a whole has warmed 1.3 degrees Celsius (2 degrees Fahrenheit) since the 1960s, according to weather agency data, a phenomenon that is noticeable year-round but especially in summer, when the average temperatures are 1.6 C higher than they were decades ago.