By Ani Sandu
Desiccated leaves crackled underfoot as Romanian farmer Iulia Blagu walked through her scorched cornfield, devastated by one of the country's worst droughts in recent years.
She took over 300 hectares (750 acres) near Urziceni in southeastern Romania from her father half a decade ago—a baptism she describes as "five years of fire".
"For Romanian agriculture, it's not a question of if but when we will die," the 39-year-old told AFP late last month.
Holding up an ear of corn no bigger than her hand, Blagu said the drought was eating away at her harvest "like an unstoppable steamroller," forcing her for the first time to borrow money to pay her workers.
Romania is far from the only country hit by the blazing heat.
In neighboring Hungary, almost the entire country is on alert because of the high temperatures.
At the beginning of August, dozens of Hungarian farmers led two camels through downtown Budapest to draw attention to the impact of climate change on agriculture.
Both southern and eastern Europe are faced with "persistent and recurrent drought conditions," according to the latest situation report by the European Union.
The EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service has warned that it is "increasingly likely" 2024 will be the Earth's hottest year on record.
'At God's mercy'
In Romania, farmers have been promised compensation for the two million hectares of farmland which the government estimates have been damaged.
But one farmer told AFP that agriculture has become "a lottery," and he feels "at God's mercy".
In hundreds of villages, wells have run dry and water restrictions imposed, while lakes are disappearing.
Orthodox priests have even gone into fields of cracked soil to pray for rain, while in another community, work has begun to dig the ground to try to revive springs.
But with a nearby lake at risk of drying out, villager Marian Florea felt glum about the future.
"The climate has changed. And nothing good is coming," the construction worker, 53, told AFP.
"By the autumn, if this drought continues, there'll be nothing left here."
Meanwhile, farmers like Blagu are trying to adjust to the conditions.
Click here to see more...