Six Swiss military helicopters have been given a special mission in the summer heat. Over the next two weeks, they will transport up to 400,000 liters of water to almost empty reservoirs at mountain pastures.
Farmers in the area have asked for help to get enough drinking water for thousands of cows, pigs and goats. And to avoid droughts that can create feed shortages later this year.
Switzerland is one of the European countries that has been affected by a severe heat wave this summer. There has also been a major water shortage this year, according to the authorities in the state of Fribourg.
Farmer Jacques Ruffieux says the help came just in time.
– We were a day and a half away from having nothing at all. It was very close, he says.
Without the additional water supply, the animals would have had to move to graze, to areas where the winter supply of forage is usually growing now.
The army had to help transport water during droughts in 2015 and 2018 as well.
– With global warming, it is likely that this type of mission will happen more often in the future, says army chief Mathias Tuescher.
Dehydrated squirrels
It is not only animals in Switzerland who are struggling. France is experiencing its third heat wave this summer, and the worst drought ever recorded.
Birds, squirrels, hedgehogs and other small animals have been dehydrated or malnourished in the heat, reports Reuters.
Dehydrated and malnourished small animals in France receive help at a reception.
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Around 200 were rescued by an animal shelter near Nice at the beginning of August. Several had left the nest before they were old enough to fend for themselves, to seek refuge from the heat.
– It is a very, very hot summer. They can’t manage on their own, so we pick them up, we raise them, says animal keeper Laura Borderes.
In addition, several streams, lakes and ponds have dried up. It kills insects and larvae that the animals feed on
Pumps oxygen to the fish
The river Tille, which runs through the small village of Lux, is usually 50 meters wide. Now you can see thousands of dead fish in dried-up areas of the river, AP reports.
– Since 2015, we have had this situation more or less every year, except for 2021 when we had a more rainy summer. Now it has unfortunately become common, says Jean-Philippe Couasné, an environmental protection manager in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region.
On a trout farm in Oberursel in Germany, they are trying to help the fish by pumping more oxygen and water into the ponds. The heat also means that there is less oxygen in the water, reports the German TV station DEZDF.
Fish don’t get enough oxygen and rivers dry up
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Rescued dog from car
Britain is heading into another heat wave. Temperatures are expected to rise to 35 degrees in the next few days.
Police in Nottinghamshire have now asked people not to leave their dogs in cars. Earlier this week they had to smash a car window to save a dog from the heat, shows a video shared by the police.
Climate research is clear that human emissions of CO₂ and other greenhouse gases contribute to more frequent and more intense heat waves.
The globe is currently 1.1 degrees warmer than pre-industrial times. The world’s countries have agreed to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. Enormous, rapid emission cuts are needed if this is to be achieved, and to avoid the worst consequences of climate change, according to the UN climate panel.
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