Global Rundown
- More than 600 barriers were removed from European waterways last year, setting a single-year record for the continent.
- The United States is preparing for its smallest wheat harvest since 1972 amid widespread drought conditions and rising fertilizer costs.
- A strong El Niño is likely to result in India’s weakest monsoon season in 11 years.
- Vermont became the first U.S. state to ban paraquat, an herbicide linked to higher risk of Parkinson’s disease.
HotSpots H20: Dam Removal Across the European Union
A record 603 barriers were removed across 21 European countries in 2025, according to a new report out this week by Dam Removal Europe, an environmental coalition that includes the World Wildlife Federation, Nature Conservancy, and Wetlands International and which aims to reconnect more than 15,000 miles of fresh waterways across the continent by 2030.
Last year’s achievement returned 2,300 miles of rivers, streams, and creeks to a free-flowing state, which “stands out as a critical driver of climate resilience, water security, and biodiversity recovery,” the report reads.
Efforts in Scandinavia stood out last year. Sweden led all countries by removing 172 dams, followed by Finland (143), Denmark (46), and Norway (3). In December, Iceland made history by removing its first dam in the country’s history, a small hydropower installation on the River Melsá that had long been decommissioned and was blocking the migration of fish to the sea.
North Macedonia also celebrated its first dam removal, clearing two barriers from the heavily-dammed Pčinja River Basin. The effort expanded habitat for several species of freshwater fish. “Water quality was also improved, and flood and safety risks for communities were reduced,” according to the report. Experts expect Romania, Kosovo, and Greece to soon remove their countries’ first barriers before the end of 2026.
Last year, a majority of the removed barriers — 81 percent — were culverts and weirs, while 10 percent were dams. Roughly 5 percent of these structures had previously been used for hydropower production.
The record-setting year brings the total number of removed barriers across the continent to 9,680.
Recent WaterNews from Circle of Blue
- Hoover Dam Approaches a Hydropower Cliff — Big cuts in generating capacity are coming.
- Illinois Tightens PFAS Oversight Amid Federal Rollback Efforts — A new state law establishes stronger monitoring requirements for toxic “forever chemicals” in wastewater discharge.
This Week’s Top Water Stories, Told In Numbers
21 percent
The amount by which this year’s wheat harvest in the U.S. is expected to decline compared to 2025 — resulting in 1.56 billion bushels fewer output — as farmers in the Great Plains contend with both rising fertilizer costs and unpredictable weather fueled by what is expected to be a particularly harsh El Niño season. According to U.S. Department of Agriculture data, this will be the lowest year for wheat production since 1972, the Associated Press reports.
The situation is especially dire in Kansas, the country’s second-largest wheat producer, where 93 percent of the crop had already developed a seed head by mid-May — a phenotypic indicator of heat-stress that suggests the plant will be low-quality. Seed head development usually occurs several weeks later into the summer. According to the AP, roughly one-third of all planted wheat crops thus far across the country have been abandoned by farmers. As of June 1, more than half of Kansas is under drought conditions.
The story is the same in Australia, the world’s fourth-largest wheat exporter and the first major global player to have entered its growing season. As was detailed in last month’s Stream, farmers there are expecting to produce between 10 million and 15 million fewer tons of grain, roughly 5 percent of the world’s total exports.
On the Radar
India is preparing for its weakest monsoon season in 11 years, a forecast that could have significant consequences for rice paddy production and food price inflation in the world’s most populous country, Reuters reports.
Monsoon rain is the lifeblood of India’s economy, delivering 70 percent of the country’s annual rains from June through September. More than half of India’s population makes their living from farming, and half of this land lacks access to sources of irrigation.
Historically, strong El Niño years have spurred strong droughts and disrupted crop harvests. Scientists are already expecting below-average June rains, but remain optimistic that the second half of the season may bring moderate-to-average levels of precipitation.
This long-term optimism is of little solace to the billions of people currently enduring one of the worst heat waves in India’s history. Sustained temperatures above 114 degrees Fahrenheit in many states have killed dozens of people this spring. Absent the June rains that typically offer reprieve from exceedingly high temperatures, Prime Minister Modi issued a statement urging solidarity.
“This heat is harsh on all of us and I urge you all to take as many precautions as possible,” he said in a series of social media posts. “Please stay hydrated, keep water with you when stepping out. Offer a glass of water to others…kindness goes a long way.”
Policy Brief
Vermont has become the first U.S. state to ban paraquat, one of the most widely applied herbicides in the country, The New Lede reports. Studies have linked the chemical to increased risks of Parkinson’s disease, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and childhood leukemia.
The new law, signed by Gov. Phil Scott last week, will allow only limited uses of the chemical through the end of 2030 and require annual reporting on where and when it is spread. A banned substance in 70 countries, including the entire European Union, paraquat is the subject of more than 8,000 lawsuits pending in the U.S. over Parkinson’s disease diagnoses.
Records obtained by the New Lede and The Guardian in 2022 and 2023 revealed that Syngenta, the chemical’s primary manufacturer, “employed an array of secretive tactics to hide or downplay research linking its chemical to the disease, discredit independent research and mislead or otherwise influence regulatory decisions to protect paraquat sales.”
Syngenta this spring announced that it would no longer be selling paraquat in the U.S., though it is still available for purchase from other producers.
