After weeks of hot, dry weather, the Loire River in Loireauxence, western France, now runs low, exposing its bed. Extreme heat across Europe is turning landscapes into arid expanses. DAMIEN MEYER/AFP

Experts say Europe's heatwaves this summer have been "exceptional", causing riverbeds across the continent to dry up. Now the flow-on effects are being felt economically.

Across Europe, extreme weather is drying up rivers.