Farms in Spain, Portugal hit hard by extreme drought

Madrid

SPAIN and Portugal are grappling with a devastating drought which has left rivers nearly dry, sparked deadly wildfires and devastated crops - and experts warn that prolonged dry spells will become more frequent.

Nearly all of Portugal has suffered extreme drought conditions during the last six months, which has not happened since 2005. A majority of Spain has also received considerably less rain than it normally would.

"It's a ruinous situation," said Jose Ramon Gonzalez, a small rancher in Spain's normally rainy northwestern region of Galicia.

Due t…