Drought in Poland is not new
Drought in the country. For several years in various forms, the same message has been repeated in media information. Apart from farmers and climate specialists, many do not respond to him with excessive concern. Drought increases food pricesbut in our country it does not involve the risk of hunger and a threat to life. However, this is an excellent indicator showing what can happen in the following years. And there are already areas in which practicing many plants slowly lose its meaning.
Wielkopolska among the most affected
As they show maps And statistics, drought affects primarily northern, western and central Poland. Wielkopolska is in the center of this area. Dry farmers are actually given in signs – With some crops, the losses reach almost 100 percent. There are several reasons.
Hydrological drought causes a difficult situation in agriculture, where water is one of the most important ingredients in plant and animal production. Unfortunately, in the next decades the situation will not improve, so we should start all possible mechanisms to retention water – mainly in soil and landscape, not in tanks. The drainage ditch network in Poland is huge and is waiting for sealing
– says next.gazeta.pl prof. Mariusz Lamentowicz from the Adam Mickiewicz University in PoznaÅ„.
Water is of great importance
The drop in water level is one of the best drought barometers. Popular Poznań Maltese lake It is difficult to fill after winter purification of DNA. Water is drained every four years, and the bottom cleaned from the silt and rubbish. Then the filling occurs again. This year there was not enough water. The April rowing regatta was canceled for the first time in a 40-year history. Lack of water not only affects the condition of crops, but also forests.
Increasing temperatures cause disappearance of lakes, rivers and degeneration of peat bogs. Another consequence is a decrease in the condition of trees, especially the most numerous species, i.e. pine, which dies massively, which causes significant complications in forestry
– explains Professor Lamentowicz.
Dry future quite likely
Drought in the Greater Poland Voivodeship has been present every year for over a decademainly touching the eastern part of the region. Jolanta Nawrocka, chairwoman of the Poviat Council in Konin, believes that farmers must be ready to regularly arise this problem. The method of counteracting is, for example, choosing such varieties of plants that cope better with water deficiencies. Even if it means lower yields.
Meanwhile, climate predictions are not optimistic. Currently, the average temperature is in Poland at 9 degrees C., but in the middle of the century it can exceed 10 degrees Celsius, and at the end of the century even 12 degrees. The fact that the changes occur can be easily checked by comparing data from previous decades. The annual average temperature in 1961-1990 for Poznań was 8.3 degrees C. Between 1991 and 2020 it was already 9.5 degrees C. In 2013-2022 the length of hot periods (i.e. the number of days at the temperature of at least 30 degrees C) was as much as 15.2. In turn, in 1961-1990 it was only 5.9 days, which is over 2.5 times less.
Education is still not enough
The “Climate Revolution” festival continues in PoznaÅ„ (from April 22). A monthly event is a great way to learn more about the impact of climate change, including drought, on the region. Talks about the climate are not the same as climate education, and the latter is different in Poland. – The state of climate education is slowly improving, although there is a lot to work. We talk about the atmosphere without major restrictions, there are many positive movements, often from various foundations or non -governmental organizations, Climate education, comes to the fore and is getting better. The subject is also much more likely to take up the media. In schools and universities, however, the climate teaching is still at a minimum level. There is a lot to be done here, which is why activities such as the CLIMATE Festival Revolution give an optimistic flash and hope for changes – summed up Professor Mariusz Lamentowicz. End of the festival on May 22-24 in Konin.
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Sources: zoneagro, Election, Climate revolution, Local news, Local government portal