Usually submerged areas of the Danube River are exposed amid exceptionally low water levels, in Rasova, Romania, Monday, Aug. 3 2026. (AP Photo/ Vadim Ghirda)
Heat and drought are affecting communities around the world, lowering water levels and sending people and animals in search of relief. The hot, dry weather is reshaping landscapes and daily life.
Rio, a 9-year-old German Shorthaired Pointer, cools off in a kiddie pool at Libbit Park in the Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)People walk on a sandbar underneath the Danube’s Margareth Bridge in downtown Budapest, Hungary, Wednesday Aug. 5, 2026, as the river, which runs through 10 European countries, has receded never-before-seen low water levels. (AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky)A person cools off at a cooling mist spot on a hot and sunny day at the Sensoji Buddhist temple in Tokyo’s Asakusa district, Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)Boats are stranded in a side arm of the river Rhine that is running out of water in Mackenheim near Mainz, Germany Monday, Aug. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)A man pours water over his head during high temperatures in the center of Brussels, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Marius Burgelman)A boat makes its way through algae in a canal, triggered by hot weather, amid drought conditions in London, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)Remains of the post-World War II Patton Bridge are exposed during historically low water levels of the Rhine River during a heat wave and a prolonged drought, across from the Cologne Cathedral in Cologne, Germany, Monday, Aug. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)A pharmacy display shows a temperature of 42 degrees Celsius in Paris during a heat wave, Wednesday, July 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard).Visitors pass by the cooling fog device at Gwangmyeong Cave tourist site in Gwangmyeong, South Korea, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)Curious onlookers gather near the wreckage of a WWII German warship that emerged due to low water levels in the Danube river near Prahovo, Serbia, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)Carrots lay on the dry soil in a field affected by the drought in Poortvliet, Netherlands, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)A man splashes water on a horse to cool it off next to a bank of sand on the Danube River, as usually submerged areas are exposed due to extreme low levels of the water following an extended period of drought in Roseti, Romania, Wednesday, July 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)The wreckage of a WWII German warship emerges, due to the drought, in front of Djerdap II, a large dam on the Danube River, between Romania and Serbia, near Prahovo, Serbia, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)Tourists take pictures outside Rome’s Colosseum as the archeological site remains open for evening visits aimed at helping visitors avoid the daytime heat, Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)People watch the setting sun at the end of a hot summer day, Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)A dog walker walks through dried vegetation in a park, amid drought conditions in London, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)Palestinians cool off in the Mediterranean Sea during a heat wave in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, Thursday, July 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)Dried vegetation is seen surrounding the All Saints church in Blackheath, London, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, as the hot and very dry weather continues for most parts of the UK. (AP Photo/Kwiyeon Ha)The Romanian Navy detonates underwater explosives during a controlled demolition of submerged rocks to improve water flow to the Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant amid exceptionally low water levels on the Danube River, in Izvoarele, Romania, Monday, Aug. 3 2026. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)People walk on a sandbank on the Danube River as usually submerged areas are exposed amid exceptionally low water levels, in Rasova, Romania, Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
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