The widespread droughts

And it’s not just the heat. It’s also the water drying up.

Europe braced on Wednesday for a fifth heat wave of a record-breaking summer that has already spurred wildfires of rare ferocity, caused water shortages across the continent and, for many Europeans, sapped the joy from a season they once savored.

The heat is expected to sweep from the west, with a high of 109 degrees Fahrenheit, or 43 degrees Celsius, predicted in Spain on Thursday, before hitting more eastern countries like Germany over the weekend.

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In more than 70 percent of mainland France, water use is limited because of the widespread droughts. Groundwater levels have declined in more than 90 percent of underground water reserves in mainland France, the country’s national geological service reported this month. In some regions, people could be fined for using water in certain contexts, like washing their cars or filling swimming pools.

Across the channel, nearly three-quarters of England is now in drought, according to officials, with tens of millions of people in Britain under a hose ban.

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The new heat wave comes after Western Europe recorded its hottest June-to-July period on record, according to Copernicus, the European Union’s climate monitoring service.

Droughts, magnified by climate change, are crippling some of the continent’s critical waterways, including the Rhine. In Serbia, the Danube River’s receding water levels exposed ships from a Nazi fleet that sank at the end of World War II.

Droughts and hail produced by uncharacteristically violent rainstorms have played havoc with agricultural land, harming farming revenues. Coldiretti, Italy’s largest agricultural trade association, estimates that climate-related damages have exceeded three billion euros, or nearly $3.5 billion.

Oh well, it’s only the food supply.