“Currently, we are recording exceedances of the alarm level at 41 hydrological stations in Poland, and the warning level at 30” – informs the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management. For example, in the village of Barcinek in the Karkonosze Mountains, the water level is at 228 cm, with the alarm level raised at 110 cm. The situation is even worse in the village of Biała Nyska (Opole Voivodeship), where the water level is currently 494 cm. The alarm level was declared at 330 cm.
The Vistula is drying up and in the south the rivers are almost flooded
Almost all of southern Poland is covered by extreme downpour warnings. For a long time now it's raining in Lower and Upper Silesia, Opole Province and Lesser Poland. In these regions and in the eastern and central part of the country, the third (highest) degree alert was announced. In the Łódź, Lublin and Mazovia provinces, in addition to heavy rains, rains are expected storms.
In the south of the country, intensive preparations are underway for the flood. Levees are being built and evacuations from flood areas are underway. Residents of these regions are being kept up to date on possible threats. All because of concerns about high water levels on rivers.
Meanwhile, in Warsaw, the Vistula River is still at record lows. The Vistula River was measured at 7:00 a.m. on the Vistula boulevards, according to IMGW. The measuring devices indicated that the river level in Warsaw was 21 cm. If not for Tuesday's drop to 20 cm, it would be a record not recorded since 2015 (when the water level dropped to 26 cm). The scale of the problem is evidenced by the fact that the alarm level is declared when the water level reaches 650 cm. Let us recall that in many places in the country this alarm level has been exceeded.
“This is what gas emissions lead to…”
How is it possible that in one part of the country there are torrential downpours, the specter of flooding looming, while in another the water in rivers is at record low levels? Well, biologists say it straight: it is a textbook example of how climate change works.
– Just a few days ago we had heatwaveand the main topic of the services' warnings was the high fire risk associated with the long-term drought. Today, the headlines were taken over by forecasts of record rainfall. The more frequent occurrence of such extremes is one of the manifestations of climate change in Poland – explains Dr. Aleksandra Kardaś, editor-in-chief of the portal “Nauka o klimat” in a statement sent to Next.gazeta.pl.
– The situation of droughts and torrential rains that are increasingly affecting our country is a textbook example of what is caused by the emission of huge amounts of greenhouse gases, which scientists have been warning about for decades. The remedial measures that we must implement are known to us and defined as part of subsequent climate conferences or conferences devoted to biodiversity. Why are we not implementing them? – asks Prof. Dr. Hab. Piotr Skubała from the State Council for Nature Conservation.