SPANISH CITY OF JAEN PRAYS FOR FIRST RAIN SINCE 1949

Drought is so severe in parts of Spain that thousands of people are invoking the heavens desperate for rain.

parishioners in the southern city of Jaen held a procession carrying aloft a statute of Christ called “El Abuelo” to pray for rain for the first time since 1949.

Thousands attended the procession as experts say parts of Spain are the driest in a thousand years, with drought depleting reservoirs to half their normal capacity.

On April 25, Spain asked the European Union for emergency funds to help the country’s farmers grapple with a severe drought threatening crops.

Spain is the world’s biggest exporter of olive oil and a key source of Europe’s fruit and vegetables.