London records first dry month in 150 years
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London’s Kew Gardens, home to a weather station since 1871, recorded its first calendar month with no rain in 155 years. Europe is struggling with a continent-wide drought: Record low water levels in the Danube river have forced Hungary to shut down its only nuclear power plant, and the government is preparing for blackouts and electricity rationing at a time when the country’s economy is struggling. Romania’s Cernavodă plant, also on the Danube, has already shut down and the Rhine’s water shortage has disrupted German trade. Though London’s first-ever rain-free month is not confirmed, there is no end in sight: forecasters said there was “little sign of the widespread, sustained rainfall that would be needed” to end the UK’s drought.
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