Parts of the European Union could face three more months of warmer and drier conditions as Europe witnesses a major drought that has fueled forest fires, dried up rivers and devastated crops. The EU's Earth observation program in a report for the month of August said, warmer and drier than usual conditions are likely to occur in the western Euro-Mediterranean region in the coming months till November 2022, notably in Spain and Portugal.<br />'' <br />'' Almost half of the 27-nation EU is under drought warning, with conditions worsening in Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania and Spain. The 27-nation bloc's Copernicus program report also noted rising drought hazards outside the EU, in Britain, Serbia, Ukraine and Moldova.<br />'' <br />'' Water shortages and heat stress are also reducing European crop yields, with maize, soybeans, and sunflowers hardest hit. Recent rainfall in August has helped some regions, but crops in other areas have been battered by thunderstorms.<br />'' <br />''The report comes amid what experts say could be the continent's worst drought in 500 years. Drought conditions are also reported in East Africa, the western United States and northern Mexico.