An extremely hot, dry summer that shrank reservoirs and sparked forest fires is now threatening the heartiest of Spain's staple crops: the olives that make the European country the world's leading producer and exporter of the tiny green fruits that are pressed into golden oil.

The law codifies the Mar Menor’s right “to exist as an ecosystem and to evolve naturally” and recognizes its right to protection, conservation and restoration.

More than 3,000 firefighters battled alongside ordinary Portuguese citizens desperate to save their homes from several wildfires that raged across the European country on Thursday, July 14, 2022, fanned by extreme temperatures and drought conditions linked to climate change.

Firefighters in Spain and Germany struggled to contain wildfires on Sunday, June 19, 2022, amid an unusual heat wave in Western Europe for this time of year.

The Russian tanks and missiles besieging Ukraine also are threatening the food supply and livelihoods of people in Europe, Africa and Asia who rely on the vast, fertile farmlands of the Black Sea region — known as the “breadbasket of the world.”