Restrictions on crop irrigation are staggered by region, the ministry said, ranging from a one-day ban each week to a total prohibition of water usage in agriculture. France’s dryness stems in part from an abnormally hot summer in Europe, part of a broader trend of rising global temperatures. Temperatures spiked to never-before-seen levels across the south of France earlier this summer, exceeding 114 degrees Fahrenheit in late June. In Paris, there has been no precipitation since June 21, the driest start to summer since officials began keeping records in 1873, according to France’s weather agency. The summer dryness has been compounded by weaker-than-normal rain during last fall and winter, when France’s water tables normally refill, said Laurence Gourcy, a hydrogeologist with France’s national Bureau of Geological and Mineral Research. That means people are now drawing water from underground reserves that are already low. “Water-table levels are poor, and furthermore, […]