PARIS: A lack of rain in parts of southern Europe is causing concern for grain crops ahead of the spring growing season after plants mostly avoided frost damage so far this winter, the European Union’s crop-monitoring service said on Monday. Europe experienced severe drought last summer, and dry weather in the past month is fuelling worries in countries such as Italy that water reserves will not recover this year.

Around the Mediterranean rim, drought was affecting parts of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, while western Turkey was also dry, MARS said.