Comment from Agrometeorologist

Communication report regarding the incidences of drought conditions in Poland

The Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation – State Research Institute, in accordance with an Act of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development has developed the climatic water balance values for all 2477 Polish local districts (gminas) and, based on soil categories, calculated the current risk of agricultural drought.

In the eighth reporting period, i.e. from June 1st to July 31st, 2019, IUNG-PIB stated agricultural drought conditions in Poland.

The average of Climatic Water Balance values, which are the basis for assessing the risk of agricultural drought, was negative and equalled -173 mm. It has decreased by 40 mm in comparison to the previous sixty-day reporting period (May 21st - July 20th).

The largest water deficit in the period from June 1st to July 31st (as in the previous reporting periods) was recorded in Lubuskie Lake District and, additionally, in Wielkopolskie Lake District and Wielkopolska Lowland. The Climatic Water Balance values in this area range from -240 to -279 mm. Very low CWB values were also recorded in the southern part of Silesian Lowland and in Łódź Hills, ranging from -240 mm to -259 mm. In the majority of Poland CWB values are low and range from -160 mm to -239 mm. Only in the eastern part of the South Baltic Sea Region and western part of Masurian Lake District, as well as in the southernmost part of Poland the CWB values are slightly higher and range from -100 mm to -159 mm.

Agricultural drought was stated in all the voivodeships, as follows:

  • Lubuskie,
  • Wielkopolskie,
  • Łódzkie,
  • Opolskie,
  • Podlaskie,
  • Mazowieckie,
  • Zachodniopomorskie,
  • Dolnośląskie,
  • Lubelskie,
  • Pomorskie,
  • Kujawsko-pomorskie,
  • Śląskie,
  • Świętokrzyskie,
  • Podkarpackie,
  • Warmińsko – mazurskie,
  • Małopolskie.

Agricultural drought was stated in all the monitored crops, as follows:

  • Spring cereals,
  • Winter cereals,
  • Fruit shrubs,
  • Strawberries,
  • Legumes,
  • Maize for grain,
  • Maize for silage,
  • Fruit trees,
  • Ground vegetables,
  • Tobacco,
  • Sugar beet,
  • Potato,
  • Hops.

Table 1 presents the area affected by agricultural drought according to particular crops in the current sixty-day reporting period.

Table 1. Crops affected by agricultural drought in the period of June 1st – July 31st – the share (%) of gminas at risk of drought occurrence in Poland.

No.CropShare of local districts (gminas) at risk in Poland [%]Share of arable area at risk of agricultural drought [%] in Poland
1.Maize for grain223190.07
2.Maize for silage223190.07
3.Fruit shrubs214986.76
4.Legumes210484.94
5.Ground vegetables186675.33
6Tobacco183474.04
7.Spring cereals183374.00
8.Strawberries162365.52
9.Hops160264.68
10.Winter cereals160164.63
11.Potato158063.79
12.Fruit trees146659.18
13.Sugar beet106743.08

Information on the area of arable land affected by drought in the current sixty-day reporting period is presented in table 2.

Table. 2. The share (%) of the area of arable land potentially affected by agricultural drought.

No.CropShare of arable area at risk of agricultural drought [%] in Poland
1.Fruit shrubs61.36
2.Maize for grain57.23
3.Maize for silage57.23
4.Legumes56.16
5.Tobacco48.70
6.Ground vegetables43.55
7.Spring cereals42.88
8.Strawberries35.32
9.Hops33.94
10.Potato33.47
11.Winter cereals32.63
12.Fruit trees28.00
13.Sugar beet15.82

In the eighth reporting period, from June 1st to July 31st, 2019, the highest risk of agricultural drought occurred for maize for grain. Agricultural drought in this crop occurred in 2231 local districts (gminas), which constitute 90.07% of all the local districts in Poland. In relation to the previous reporting period, the number of gminas affected by drought has increased by 539. Agricultural drought occurred in all the voivodeships, in the area of 57.23% of arable land. Table 3 presents detailed data on drought occurrence in maize for grain in particular voivodeships.

Tab. 3. Agricultural drought in maize for grain

No.VoivodeshipNumber of local districtsNumber of local districts at riskShare of local districts at risk [%]Share of the area at risk [%]
1.lubuskie8282100.0095.19
2.łódzkie177177100.0095.31
3.mazowieckie314314100.0074.46
4.opolskie7171100.0053.44
5.podlaskie118118100.0045.38
6.świętokrzyskie102102100.0049.17
7.wielkopolskie226226100.0098.62
8.zachodniopomorskie113113100.0073.48
9.lubelskie21321299.5355.94
10.kujawsko-pomorskie14413795.1461.81
11.dolnośląskie16915390.5340.18
12.śląskie16714788.0256.48
13.małopolskie18215484.6211.86
14.podkarpackie16013282.5023.88
15.pomorskie1235746.3422.74
16.warmińsko-mazurskie1163631.035.31

Agricultural drought affected also maize for silage. It was also recorded in 2231 local districts (gminas) in Poland (90.07% of all local districts in the country), which is 539 more than in the previous reporting period. Agricultural drought occurred in all the voivodeships, in the area of 57.23% of arable land. Table 4 presents detailed data on drought occurrence in maize for silage in particular voivodeships.

Tab. 4. Agricultural drought in maize for silage

No.VoivodeshipNumber of local districtsNumber of local districts at riskShare of local districts at risk [%]Share of the area at risk [%]
1.lubuskie8282100.0095.19
2.łódzkie177177100.0095.31
3.mazowieckie314314100.0074.46
4.opolskie7171100.0053.44
5.podlaskie118118100.0045.38
6.świętokrzyskie102102100.0049.17
7.wielkopolskie226226100.0098.62
8.zachodniopomorskie113113100.0073.48
9.lubelskie21321299.5355.94
10.kujawsko-pomorskie14413795.1461.81
11.dolnośląskie16915390.5340.18
12.śląskie16714788.0256.48
13.małopolskie18215484.6211.86
14.podkarpackie16013282.5023.88
15.pomorskie1235746.3422.74
16.warmińsko-mazurskie1163631.035.31

In the current reporting period agricultural drought affected also fruit shrubs. It was recorded in 2149 local districts (gminas) in Poland (86.76% of all local districts in the country). In relation to the previous reporting period, the number of gminas affected by drought has increased by 522. Agricultural drought in fruit shrubs occurred in all the voivodeships, in the area of 61.36% of arable land. Table 5 presents detailed data on drought occurrence in fruit shrubs in particular voivodeships.

Tab. 5. Agricultural drought in fruit shrubs

No.VoivodeshipNumber of local districtsNumber of local districts at riskShare of local districts at risk [%]Share of the area at risk [%]
1.lubuskie8282100.0099.25
2.łódzkie177177100.0097.39
3.mazowieckie314314100.0080.21
4.opolskie7171100.0068.53
5.wielkopolskie226226100.0099.82
6.zachodniopomorskie113113100.0081.69
7.świętokrzyskie10210199.0258.10
8.lubelskie21321098.5964.22
9.podlaskie11811294.9242.84
10.kujawsko-pomorskie14412888.8965.26
11.dolnośląskie16914786.9851.35
12.śląskie16713882.6362.62
13.podkarpackie16012779.3824.98
14.małopolskie18214479.1215.20
15.pomorskie1234637.4021.95
16.warmińsko-mazurskie1161311.210.54

Agricultural drought occurred also in legumes. It was recorded in 2104 local districts (gminas) in Poland (84.94% of all local districts in the country). In relation to the previous reporting period, the number of gminas affected by drought has increased by 554. Drought occurred in all the voivodeships, in the area of 56.166% of arable land. Table 6 presents detailed data on drought occurrence in legumes in particular voivodeships.

Tab. 6. Agricultural drought in legumes

No.VoivodeshipNumber of local districtsNumber of local districts at riskShare of local districts at risk [%]Share of the area at risk [%]
1.lubuskie8282100.0098.61
2.łódzkie177177100.0096.31
3.opolskie7171100.0058.83
4.wielkopolskie226226100.0099.60
5.zachodniopomorskie113113100.0068.78
6.mazowieckie31431399.6873.49
7.lubelskie21320998.1256.83
8.świętokrzyskie10210098.0449.63
9.podlaskie11810488.1432.20
10.kujawsko-pomorskie14412586.8159.73
11.dolnośląskie16914284.0244.01
12.śląskie16713681.4457.16
13.podkarpackie16012376.8823.40
14.małopolskie18213875.8211.79
15.pomorskie1234133.3318.59
16.warmińsko-mazurskie11643.450.05

Agricultural drought occurred also in ground vegetables. It was recorded in 1866 local districts (gminas) in Poland (75.33% of all local districts in the country). In relation to the previous reporting period, the number of gminas affected by drought has increased by 613. Drought occurred in 15 voivodeships, in the area of 43.55% of arable land. Table 7 presents detailed data on drought occurrence in ground vegetables in particular voivodeships

Tab. 7. Agricultural drought in ground vegetables

No.VoivodeshipNumber of local districtsNumber of local districts at riskShare of local districts at risk [%]Share of the area at risk [%]
1.lubuskie8282100.0093.53
2.łódzkie177177100.0083.34
3.wielkopolskie226226100.0096.86
4.opolskie717098.5941.65
5.zachodniopomorskie11310996.4642.50
6.lubelskie21320294.8441.14
7.świętokrzyskie1029088.2434.35
8.mazowieckie31427186.3152.20
9.śląskie16713178.4445.35
10.dolnośląskie16913076.9232.32
11.kujawsko-pomorskie14410975.6942.65
12.małopolskie18210959.897.74
13.podkarpackie1608855.0018.36
14.podlaskie1184941.5313.04
15.pomorskie1232318.708.74

In the current reporting period agricultural drought occurred also in tobacco. It was recorded in 1834 local districts (gminas) in Poland (74.04% of all local districts in the country). In relation to the previous reporting period, the number of gminas affected by drought has increased by 598. Drought occurred in 15 voivodeships, in the area of 48.70% of arable land. Table 8 presents detailed data on drought occurrence in tobacco in particular voivodeships.

Tab. 8. Agricultural drought tobacco

No.VoivodeshipNumber of local districtsNumber of local districts at riskShare of local districts at risk [%]Share of the area at risk [%]
1.lubuskie8282100.0098.65
2.łódzkie177177100.0094.08
3.wielkopolskie226226100.0099.26
4.opolskie716997.1858.99
5.lubelskie21320194.3752.07
6.zachodniopomorskie11310592.9247.67
7.świętokrzyskie1028886.2738.23
8.mazowieckie31426985.6755.88
9.śląskie16713178.4453.29
10.dolnośląskie16913076.9243.07
11.kujawsko-pomorskie14410774.3148.49
12.małopolskie18210256.048.88
13.podkarpackie1608351.8819.78
14.podlaskie1184336.4412.47
15.pomorskie1232117.078.95

In the reporting period from June 1st to July 31st agricultural drought occurred also in spring cereals. It was recorded in 1833 local districts (gminas) in Poland (74% of all the local districts in the country). In relation to the previous reporting period, the number of gminas affected by drought has increased by 336. Agricultural drought occurred in 15 voivodeships, in the area of 42.88% of arable land. Table 9 presents detailed data on drought occurrence in spring cereals in particular voivodeships.

Tab. 9. Agricultural drought in spring cereals

No.VoivodeshipNumber of local districtsNumber of local districts at riskShare of local districts at risk [%]Share of the area at risk [%]
1.lubuskie8282100.0094.15
2.łódzkie177177100.0084.55
3.wielkopolskie226226100.0097.45
4.opolskie716997.1844.98
5.lubelskie21320194.3739.54
6.zachodniopomorskie11310592.9237.63
7.świętokrzyskie1028886.2733.12
8.mazowieckie31426985.6750.52
9.śląskie16713178.4445.32
10.dolnośląskie16913076.9233.20
11.kujawsko-pomorskie14410774.3141.34
12.małopolskie18210155.497.08
13.podkarpackie1608351.8817.35
14.podlaskie1184336.4411.35
15.pomorskie1232117.077.93

Agricultural drought occurred also in strawberries. It was recorded in 1623 local districts (gminas) in Poland (65.52% of all local districts in the country). In relation to the previous reporting period, the number of gminas affected by drought has increased by 490. Agricultural drought in strawberries occurred in 15 voivodeships, in the area of 35.32% of arable land. Table 10 presents detailed data on drought occurrence in strawberries in particular voivodeships.

Tab. 10. Agricultural drought in strawberries

No.VoivodeshipNumber of local districtsNumber of local districts at riskShare of local districts at risk [%]Share of the area at risk [%]
1.lubuskie8282100.0087.58
2.łódzkie177177100.0078.70
3.wielkopolskie226226100.0092.55
4.opolskie716794.3732.26
5.lubelskie21319390.6132.02
6.mazowieckie31424277.0737.61
7.śląskie16712071.8641.74
8.świętokrzyskie1027371.5724.06
9.dolnośląskie16911869.8227.69
10.zachodniopomorskie1137667.2620.67
11.kujawsko-pomorskie1448559.0328.79
12.małopolskie1827038.464.80
13.podkarpackie1606138.1212.46
14.podlaskie1182218.644.27
15.pomorskie123118.943.18

Agricultural drought affected also hops. It was recorded in 1602 local districts (gminas) in Poland (64.68 % of all local districts in the country). In relation to the previous reporting period, the number of gminas affected by drought has increased by 830. Drought in hops occurred in 15 voivodeships, in the area of 33,94% of arable land. Table 11 presents detailed data on drought occurrence in hops in particular voivodeships.

Tab. 11. Agricultural drought in hops

No.VoivodeshipNumber of local districtsNumber of local districts at riskShare of local districts at risk [%]Share of the area at risk [%]
1.lubuskie8282100.0084.06
2.łódzkie177177100.0077.43
3.wielkopolskie226226100.0090.35
4.opolskie716794.3731.99
5.lubelskie21319189.6730.96
6.mazowieckie31423976.1134.92
7.śląskie16712071.8640.97
8.świętokrzyskie1027169.6122.59
9.dolnośląskie16911769.2326.61
10.zachodniopomorskie1137364.6018.82
11.kujawsko-pomorskie1448256.9426.87
12.małopolskie1826837.364.42
13.podkarpackie1605836.2511.47
14.podlaskie1182117.803.95
15.pomorskie123108.132.57

Agricultural drought occurred also in winter cereals. It was recorded in 1601 local districts (gminas) in Poland (64.63% of all the local districts in the country). In relation to the previous reporting period, the number of gminas affected by drought has increased by 287. Agricultural drought occurred in 15 voivodeships, in the area of 32.63% of arable land. Table 12 presents detailed data on drought occurrence in winter cereals in particular voivodeships.

Tab. 12. Agricultural drought in winter cereals

No.VoivodeshipNumber of local districtsNumber of local districts at riskShare of local districts at risk [%]Share of the area at risk [%]
1.lubuskie8282100.0081.79
2.łódzkie177177100.0076.43
3.wielkopolskie226226100.0089.02
4.opolskie716794.3731.72
5.lubelskie21319189.6729.37
6.mazowieckie31423976.1132.01
7.śląskie16712071.8639.30
8.świętokrzyskie1027169.6120.97
9.dolnośląskie16911769.2325.56
10.zachodniopomorskie1137364.6016.93
11.kujawsko-pomorskie1448256.9424.81
12.małopolskie1826736.814.07
13.podkarpackie1605836.2510.88
14.podlaskie1182117.803.95
15.pomorskie123108.132.09

Agricultural drought occurred in potatoes. It was recorded in 1580 local districts (gminas) in Poland (63.79% of all local districts in the country). In relation to the previous reporting period, the number of gminas affected by drought has increased by 940. Drought occurred in 15 voivodeships, in the area of 33.47% of arable land. Table 13 presents detailed data on drought occurrence in potatoes in particular voivodeships.

Tab. 13. Agricultural drought in potatoes

No.VoivodeshipNumber of local districtsNumber of local districts at riskShare of local districts at risk [%]Share of the area at risk [%]
1.lubuskie8282100.0087.04
2.łódzkie177177100.0077.96
3.wielkopolskie226226100.0092.15
4.opolskie716794.3731.81
5.lubelskie21319089.2029.85
6.mazowieckie31423775.4832.74
7.śląskie16711870.6639.86
8.dolnośląskie16911668.6426.96
9.świętokrzyskie1027068.6320.96
10.zachodniopomorskie1137162.8317.00
11.kujawsko-pomorskie1447954.8625.21
12.podkarpackie1605635.0010.64
13.małopolskie1826032.973.98
14.podlaskie1182117.803.68
15.pomorskie123108.132.06

Agricultural drought was also recorded in fruit trees. It occurred in 1466 local districts (gminas) in Poland (59.18% of all local districts in the country). In relation to the previous reporting period, the number of gminas affected by drought has increased by 560. Drought occurred in 15 voivodeships, in the area of 28% of arable land. Table 14 presents detailed data on drought occurrence in fruit trees in particular voivodeships.

Tab. 14. Agricultural drought in fruit trees

No.VoivodeshipNumber of local districtsNumber of local districts at riskShare of local districts at risk [%]Share of the area at risk [%]
1.lubuskie8282100.0077.78
2.łódzkie177177100.0067.22
3.wielkopolskie226226100.0084.41
4.opolskie716692.9630.62
5.lubelskie21317481.6921.56
6.mazowieckie31422371.0224.44
7.śląskie16711267.0731.70
8.dolnośląskie16911165.6822.65
9.świętokrzyskie1025957.8415.95
10.zachodniopomorskie1135346.9011.03
11.kujawsko-pomorskie1446545.1420.85
12.podkarpackie1604427.507.01
13.małopolskie1825027.472.21
14.podlaskie1181714.412.52
15.pomorskie12375.691.37

Agricultural drought occurred in sugar beet as well. It was recorded in 1067 local districts (gminas) in Poland (43.08% of all local districts in the country). In relation to the previous reporting period, the number of gminas affected by drought has increased by 843. Drought occurred in 14 voivodeships, in the area of 15.82% of arable land. Table 15 presents detailed data on drought occurrence in sugar beet in particular voivodeships.

Tab. 15. Agricultural drought in sugar beet

No.VoivodeshipNumber of local districtsNumber of local districts at riskShare of local districts at risk [%]Share of the area at risk [%]
1.wielkopolskie226226100.0056.29
2.lubuskie828198.7844.47
3.łódzkie17717397.7434.73
4.opolskie716287.3221.14
5.dolnośląskie1698852.0715.58
6.śląskie1678651.5017.69
7.lubelskie21310750.2311.45
8.mazowieckie31412640.139.43
9.świętokrzyskie1023332.352.57
10.kujawsko-pomorskie1444027.7815.10
11.zachodniopomorskie1132118.585.54
12.małopolskie182147.690.84
13.podkarpackie16085.001.01
14.pomorskie12321.630.13

June was very warm. The highest temperatures occurred in south-western parts of Poland and ranged from 22 to more than 23°C (exceeding the multiannual norm by 6°C). The lowest temperatures occurred in the northern and southern parts of the country, ranging from 19 to 22°C but still exceeding the multiannual norm by 3-6°C.

The first and second decade of July were cold, but the third one was warmer. In the first decade, the lowest temperatures occurred in the northern part of Poland, ranging from below 14.5 to 16°C. In the south temperatures were higher, between 16-19°C. The highest temperatures were recorded in Carpathian Foothills, i.e. slightly above 19°C. In the second decade of the month, the eastern part of the country was the coldest, with temperatures ranging from 16 to 17°C. The highest temperatures were recorded in the western regions, ranging from 17 to 18°C. The third decade of July was the warmest in the western regions of Poland, with temperatures ranging from 22 to more than 23°C, and the coldest (but still relatively warm) in north-eastern part of the country, from 19 to 20°C.

In June, in the majority of areas precipitation was scarce, in particular in Wielkopolskie Lake District, Wielkopolska Lowland, Kraków-Częstochowa Upland and Sandomierz Basin, where it ranged from 10 to 20 mm and constituted 20-30% of the multiannual norm. Relatively high precipitation was recorded in north-eastern parts of Poland, ranging from 60 to 110 mm, which constituted from 100 to more than 130% of the norm. In the majority of areas precipitation ranged from 20 to 60 mm (30-100% of the norm).

In the first and third decade of July precipitation was highly diversified. In the first decade in the northern part of Poland and in the third decade in the south-eastern regions it ranged from 15 to even more than 50 mm, whilst in the central part of the country it was only between 5-15 mm. In the south of Poland during the first decade and in the north-western regions during the third precipitation was even below 5 mm, whilst in the second decade of the month very scarce precipitation was recorded throughout the country, ranging from 5 to 10 mm. Only in the south-western regions and in the mountains rainfalls were more intense, reaching 10-30 mm.

In the recent sixty-day reporting periods, a particularly severe water deficit was recorded throughout Poland, resulting in considerable water shortage for crops. In many regions water deficit has increased by 20 to 30 mm or even more than 40 mm. In relation to the previous reporting period, as it was 10 days ago, the number of gminas affected by agricultural drought has risen significantly for all the monitored crops, ranging from 287 for winter cereals to 940 in case of potatoes. Agricultural drought has been currently reported for all the monitored crop species or groups in all the voivodeships in Poland.

Executive director

Prof. dr. hab. Wiesław Oleszek

Report prepared by:

Dr hab. Andrzej Doroszewski, prof. nadzw.

Dr hab. Rafał Pudełko

Dr Katarzyna Żyłowska

Dr Jan Jadczyszyn

Mgr Piotr Koza

Mgr Elżbieta Wróblewska

Mgr Agata Nowak

Contact
Institute of Soil Science and Plants Cultivation
State Research Institute
ul. Czartoryskich 8, 24-100 Puławy

Zakład Agrometeorologii i Zastosowań Informatyki
phone: 81 4786 879, 81 4786 752

Zakład Gleboznawstwa Erozji i Ochrony Gruntów
phone: 81 4786 779

W przypadku pytań dotyczących suszy proponujemy kontakt poprzez formularz zapytania, który należy wysłać mailem na adres susza@iung.pulawy.pl

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