India, Sept. 16 -- The European Union needs to develop new tools to cope with a worsening climate, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday as she proposed a new European Heatwave Plan and a future EU firefighting fleet of aeroplanes.

Speaking during her annual State of the European Union address in Strasbourg, von der Leyen said the scorching summer, which dried up rivers and contributed to tens of thousands of deaths across the bloc from Portugal to Hungary, had exposed the need for stronger preparedness.

"This summer was the summer of truth. Almost no part of our continent was spared," von der Leyen said.

She said key European rivers, including the Danube, Rhine and Garonne, were "disappearing before our ...