/// The silent sky above the rumbling lands - The historical summer drought in Hungary / 2022
In the year of two thousand and twenty-two, months of extreme drought hit much of Europe, including Hungary. Most of the irrigation canals, reservoirs and lakes in the Great Plain have dried up and the water levels of the country´s two largest lakes, the "Balaton" and the "Velencei"; lake, are still falling. Both the wildlife and the living conditions of the people living here have changed radically. Many farmers have been unable to irrigate their fields and have been forced to harvest their crops prematurely if they had any left. Maize and sunflower crops in the Great Plain and large parts of Central Hungary were destroyed and wheat yields were only a fraction of the average. Livestock farmers are unable to graze their animals and mow on the grasslands, while the price of fodder has tripled, so those who have not yet gone bankrupt have decided to liquidate their herds. For most of them, there is no alternative, as they have been doing this all their lives, symbiosis with the land and their animals... These changes and their consequences, windstorms, wind erosion, heat waves, fires, are already having a negative impact on our transport, health and food supply systems worldwide.
And in the summer of this year, several heat waves hit the region and Hungary. Fully parched grasslands, forests and scrublands increase the potential for fires. The area burnt in Hungary has increased tenfold compared to last year, with 54% of fires affected agriculture.
Persistent heat waves are extremely stressful for people living in urban areas, especially the elderly, young children and people with cardiovascular diseases, causing extreme stress on the human body. Researchers say that unless we act now, these deadly climatic conditions could become the norm by the end of the century and according to the average climate scenarios (REMO-ECHAM5), two thirds area of Hungary will become semi-desert between 2050 and 2100.
In the year of two thousand and twenty-two, months of extreme drought hit much of Europe, including Hungary. Most of the irrigation canals, reservoirs and lakes in the Great Plain have dried up and the water levels of the country´s two largest lakes, the "Balaton" and the "Velencei"; lake, are still falling. Both the wildlife and the living conditions of the people living here have changed radically. Many farmers have been unable to irrigate their fields and have been forced to harvest their crops prematurely if they had any left. Maize and sunflower crops in the Great Plain and large parts of Central Hungary were destroyed and wheat yields were only a fraction of the average. Livestock farmers are unable to graze their animals and mow on the grasslands, while the price of fodder has tripled, so those who have not yet gone bankrupt have decided to liquidate their herds. For most of them, there is no alternative, as they have been doing this all their lives, symbiosis with the land and their animals... These changes and their consequences, windstorms, wind erosion, heat waves, fires, are already having a negative impact on our transport, health and food supply systems worldwide.
And in the summer of this year, several heat waves hit the region and Hungary. Fully parched grasslands, forests and scrublands increase the potential for fires. The area burnt in Hungary has increased tenfold compared to last year, with 54% of fires affected agriculture.
Persistent heat waves are extremely stressful for people living in urban areas, especially the elderly, young children and people with cardiovascular diseases, causing extreme stress on the human body. Researchers say that unless we act now, these deadly climatic conditions could become the norm by the end of the century and according to the average climate scenarios (REMO-ECHAM5), two thirds area of Hungary will become semi-desert between 2050 and 2100.
