Temperatures rise as France experiences its worst drought on record.

On Sunday, France braced for a fourth heatwave this summer as its worst drought left arid villages without safe drinking water, and farmers cautioned of an imminent shortage of milk in the winter.

Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne’s office has created up a concerned team to tackle a drought that has caused scores of villages to depend on water deliveries by truck, provoking state-run utility EDF to restrain nuclear power output and stressed crops.

Temperatures were expected to hit the mark of 37 Celsius in the southwest on Sunday before the baking hot air spreads north earlier in this week. The national weather agency of France said it was the most threatening drought that was recorded ever since records started in 1958 and that the drought conditions were predicted to deteriorate until at least the middle of this month. On average, less than 1cm of rainfall occurred across France in the month of July.

The hot weather has compounded the utility’s crises, with corrosion issues and extended maintenance at half of its 56 reactors lowering capacity as Europe faces an energy crunch.

The corn harvest is expected to be 18.5% lower this year compared with 2021, the agriculture ministry has said, just as Europeans contend with higher food prices as a result of lower-than-normal grain exports from Russia and Ukraine. Water restrictions are in place across almost all of mainland France to conserve water, including in many places, hosepipe and irrigation bans.