Europe and the Mediterranean basin saw record drought in August, with more than half of the land affected, according to AFP analysis of EU data.

Last month, 53 percent of the region was affected by drought — an all-time high since records began in 2012 — according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.

The figure is far above the 2012-2024 average for August of 30.1 percent.

Eastern Europe and the Balkans were particularly hard hit. Thousands of residents were evacuated and two people were killed as a result of wildfires in Balkan states spurred by high temperatures.

Western Europe was also badly affected, with Portugal seeing a drop in rainfall across 70 percent of the country.

France, hit by its second heatwave of the summer in August, experienced water shortages in two-thir

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