Communication report regarding the incidences of drought conditions in Poland

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

In the tenth reporting period, i.e. from June 21st to August 20th, 2021 the average value of Climatic Water Balance (CWB), which is the basis for assessing the risk of agricultural drought, was negative and equalled -24 mm. The average CWB value has increased by 20 mm in relation to the previous reporting period (June 10th – August 10th). It resulted from increased precipitation and decreased evapotranspiration (on average by 18.8 mm in relation to the previous reporting period).

The highest water deficit, ranging from -120 to -179 mm, was still recorded in the Białogard Plain, in the northern part of the Szczecin Coastland, the western part of the Koszalin Coastland, in the Gdańsk Coastland, the Vistula Fens, the South Pomeranian Lake District, in the western and central part of the Greater Poland Lake District, in the southern part of Volhynian Polesie and northen part of the Volhynian Upland. In the rest of the country, water deficit was lower and ranged from -50 mm to -119 mm.

Based on the current humidity conditions, IUNG-PIB states the occurrence of agricultural drought in the area of Poland

Agricultural drought occurred in seven voivodeships:

• Pomorskie,
• Wielkopolskie,
• Zachodniopomorskie,
• Podkarpackie,
• Kujawsko-pomorskie,
• Lubuskie,
• Lubelskie.

Agricultural drought occurred in four crops:

• Maize for silage,
• Maize for grain,
• Fruit shrubs,
• Legumes.

In the current sixty-day reporting period, agricultural drought was recorded in maize for silage. It occurred in 56 municipalities (2.26% of all municipalities in Poland). In relation to the previous reporting period, the number of municipalities affected by agricultural drought has decreased by 7.31%. Drought occurred in the area of 0.16% of arable land, which is 1.18% less than in the previous reporting period. Detailed data on drought occurrence in maize for silage in particular voivodeships are presented in table 1.

Table 1. Agricultural drought in maize for silage

Agricultural drought was also recorded in maize for grain. It occurred in 44 municipalities (1.78% of all municipalities in Poland). In relation to the previous reporting period, the number of municipalities affected by agricultural drought has decreased by 7.51%. Drought occurred in the area of 0.12% of arable land, which is 1.13% less than in the previous reporting period. Detailed data on drought occurrence in maize for grain in particular voivodeships are presented in table 2.

Table 2. Agricultural drought in maize for grain

Agricultural drought occurred in fruit shrubs as well. It was recorded in 16 municipalities (0.65% of all municipalities in Poland). In relation to the previous reporting period, the number of municipalities affected by agricultural drought has decreased by 5.2%. Drought occurred in the area of 0.03% of arable land, which is 0.71% less than in the previous reporting period. Detailed data on drought occurrence in fruit shrubs in particular voivodeships are presented in table 3.

Table 3. Agricultural drought in fruit shrubs

Agricultural drought was also recorded in legumes. It occurred in 6 municipalities (0.24% of all municipalities in Poland). In relation to the previous reporting period, the number of municipalities affected by agricultural drought has decreased by 4.28%. Detailed data on drought occurrence in legumes in particular voivodeships are presented in table 4.

Tabela 4. Agricultural drought in legumes

This year’s June was warmer than the multiannual norm by 1-3°C. The highest temperatures (above 20°C) were recorded in the area near Sandomierz, in the central part of the Masovian Lowland and in the Greater Poland Lake District, the Greater Poland Lowland and the southern part of the Silesian Lowland. The lowest temperatures occurred in Pogórze, from 14 to 18°C. In the rest of the country temperatures ranged from 18 to 20°C.

In the first decade of July, it was the warmest in the east of Poland, in the Carpathian Piedmont and the Sandomierz Basin, where temperature exceeded 21°C. The lowest temperatures were recorded in the mountains, from 14 to 16°C. In the rest of the country temperatures ranged from 17 to 21°C. In the second decade of the month, the highest temperature exceeding 23°C was recorded in Lublin Polesie. The lowest temperatures occurred in the Sudetes, the Sudeten Foothills, the Western Beskidian Piedmont and in the Western Beskids, ranging from 16 to 20°C. In the rest of the country temperatures ranged from 20 to 23°C.

In the third decade of July, in the vast majority of the country temperatures exceeded 21°C. Lower temperature was recorded in the Lake Districts: Pomeranian, Iława, Lithuanian and in the eastern part of the Masurian Lake District; in the Silesian-Łużyce Lowland, in the eastern part of the North Podlasie Lowland and in the Uplands: Przedbórz and Woźniki-Wieluń, where it ranged from 17 to 21°C.

In the first decade of August, the highest temperatures were recorded in the eastern and southern part of the Sandomierz Basin, in Roztocze, in the south-eastern part of the Lublin Upland and in the Volhynian Upland, reaching above 19°C. The coldest temperatures, from 13 to 16°C, were recorded in the Sudetes, the Sudeten Foothills and in the Western Beskids. In the rest of the country temperatures ranged from 16 to 19°C.

In the second decade of August, the highest temperature (above 19°C) was recorded in the western part of the Sandomierz Basin, in the Orawa Basin and the Oświęcim Basin, and in the Silesian Lowland. The lowest temperatures, from 13 to 16°C, were recorded in the Sudetes, in the northern part of the South Pomeranian Lake District, the eastern and central part of the West Pomeranian Lake District, in the Lithuanian Lake District, in the eastern part of: the Masurian Lake District, the Iława Lake District, the Chełmno-Dobrzyń Lake District, in the central part of the North Podlasie Lowland and in the Western Beskids. In the rest of the country temperature ranged from 16 to 19°C.

In June, precipitation was highly diversified. Precipitation values in the range of 40-80% were recorded in Pogórze, in the Silesian Lowland, the Pomeranian Lake District, the Masovian Lowland, and the Chełmno-Dobrzyń Lake District. Precipitation values within the multiannual norm were recorded in the Lublin Upland, Polesie, the Lesser Poland Upland, and in the northern part of Kraków- Częstochowa Upland. Precipitation above the 120% of the norm occurred in the Lubusz Land and in the western part of the Greater Poland Lake District.

In the first decade of July, the lowest precipitation values (below 15 mm) were recorded in the northern part of Lublin Polesie, in the Volhynian Upland, the eastern part of the Sandomierz Basin, in the Silesian Lowland and the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland. The highest values, from 70 to 110 mm, were recorded in the Masurian Lake District, the North Podlasie Lowland, in the central part of the Sandomierz Basin, in the western part of the Lublin Upland, in the North Masovian Lowland and the Iława Lake District. In the rest of the country precipitation ranged from 15 to 70 mm.

In the second decade of July the highest precipitation was recorded in the central part of the Western Beskidian Piedmiont and the western part of the Masovian Lowland (above 75 mm). The lowest precipitation values (below 25 mm) were recorded in the Lublin Upland, Polesie, the South Podlasie Lowland, the Silesian Lowland, the Masurian Lake District, in the Coastland, the Pomeranian Lake District, in the central part of the Greater Poland Lake District and in the Lubusz Land. In the rest of the country precipitation ranged from 25 to 75 mm.

In the third decade of July, the lowest precipitation (below 10 mm) was recorded in the Lake Districts: Pomeranian, Greater Poland, Lubusz, and Chełmno-Dobrzyń, in the western part of the Silesian Lowland, the North Podlasie Lowland and in the area connecting the Przedbórz and Woźniki-Wieluń Uplands on the one side with the South Greater Poland Lowland and the Southern Masovia Hills on the other. The highest precipitation was recorded in the Lithuanian Lake District, in the eastern part of the North Podlasie Lowland, in Western Polesie, the Sandomierz Basin, in the central part of the Central Masovian Lowland and in the south of Poland, ranging from 30 to more than 50 mm. In the rest of the country precipitation ranged from 10 to 30 mm.

In the first decade of August, the lowest precipitation (below 10 mm) was recorded in the Lubusz Lake District, in the western and central part of the Toruń-Eberswalde ice-marginal valley, in the north-western and central part of the Greater Poland Lake District and in the western and southern part of the South Pomeranian Lake District.

The highest precipitation values, ranging from 60 to 110 mm, were recorded in the Central Masovian Lowland and the South Podlasie Lowland, in the Southern Masovia Hills, in the Uplands: Przedbórz, Kielce, Kraków-Częstochowa, Silesian, and Woźniki-Wieluń, in the western part of the Lublin Upland, in the Nida Basin and the north-western part of the Sandomierz Basin, in the Sudetes, the Western Beskidian Piedmont, and the Western Beskids. In the rest of the country precipitation ranged from 10 to 60 mm.

In the second decade of August, the highest precipitation occurred in the central part of the Koszalin Coastland (above 50 mm), whilst the lowest (below 10 mm) occurred in the central part of the Gdańsk Coastland, in Volhynian Polesie, the Volhynian Upland, in the eastern part of the Lublin Upland and Roztocze, in the Silesian Lowland, the Sudeten Foothills, in the Lake Districts: Greater Poland, Lubusz, and in the western and central part of the South Pomeranian Lake District, in the western part of the Trzebnica Hills, in the Lowlands: the Silesia-Łużyce Lowland, the South Greater Poland Lowland, and in the western and central part of the Toruń-Eberswalde ice-marginal valley.

In this sixty-day reporting period, i.e. from June 21st to August 20th, 2021, the water deficit values have decreased across the country (on average by 20 mm) in relation to the previous reporting period.

Definitely the highest water deficit was identified in the Pomorskie and Wielkopolskie voivodeships, where drought affected four of the monitored crops. Slightly less severe drought occurred in the Zachodniopomorskie and Podkarpackei voivodeships, where drought was recorded in three crops. Drought occurred also in the Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Lubelskie and Lubuskie voivodeships, where it was recorded in two crops. In the following voivodeships: Dolnośląskie, Łódzkie, Małopolskie, Mazowieckie, Podlaskie, Śląskie, Świętokrzyskie, Opolskie, and Warmińsko-Mazurskie no drought conditions were reported.

We would like to inform that, in accordance with the definition included in the Act of 7 July 2005 on insurance of agricultural crops and livestock (Journal of Laws No. 150, item 1249, as amended ): “drought” means damage caused by the occurrence, in any sixty-day period from 21 March to 30 September, of a decline in the climatic water balance below the value specified for each crop species and soil type”. Thus, occurrence of drought in whichever sixty-day reporting period causes yield reduction by at least 20% at municipality level in relation to the yield obtained in the multiannual average weather conditions. On the website of the agricultural drought monitoring system at: www.susza.iung.pulawy.pl there is a page presenting information on drought risk monitoring, with the following options:

Drought risk maps \ Select crop \ Select period – in the case of period, the “Maximum range” option should be selected in order to obtain the following information on drought occurrence:

• number of affected municipalities,
• share of affected municipalities,
• share of the acreage affected by drought

in a given voivodeship and in the whole country. The data clearly present higher values than those obtained in individual reporting periods, due to the fact that it is a sum of data obtained for all the municipalities and acreage affected by drought from the beginning of the drought monitoring (21 March) in a given year. Therefore, we would like to emphasize that the maximum range is the most reliable for indication of drought occurrence at the country, voivodeship, municipality and cadastral parcel levels.

Executive Director

Prof. dr hab. Wiesław Oleszek

Report prepared by: Dr hab. Andrzej Doroszewski, prof. IUNG-PIB, Dr hab. Rafał Pudełko, Dr Katarzyna Żyłowska, Dr Jan Jadczyszyn, Mgr Piotr Koza, Mgr Anna Jędrejek, Mgr Małgorzata Kozak, Adrian Matczuk