ADMS

The Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation - State Research Institute in accordance with an Act from the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development has developed the climatic water balance for all Polish municipalities (3,064 municipalities), and based on the soils categories have identified in those municipalities the current agricultural drought risk for the following crops: winter and spring cereals, corn for grain and silage, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, tobacco, field vegetables, shrubs and fruit trees, strawberries and legumes.

In the ninth reporting period, i.e. from June 21 to August 20, 2013, IUNG-PIB states a risk of agricultural drought in Poland.

Drought occurs for crops:

• legumes

• potato,

• shrubs,

grown on soils of I and II category:

• Category I soil (very light),

• Category II soils (light).

The largest area of drought risk is considered for legumes cultivation, and covers 3.2% of the arable Polish land, gathered in 506 local districts (16.5% of country local districts). Drought for legumes occurs in eight provinces:

The threat of drought for potato is at 0.1% Polish arable land concentrated in 60 local districts (2% of the local district of the country). Drought for potato occurs in four voivodeships:

The threat of drought for shrubs is 0.1% Polish arable land concentrated in 60 local districts (2% of the country’s local districts). Drought of shrubs found in four voivodeships:

The values of climatic water balance (CWB), which are the basis to assess the risk of drought in most Polish areas, are negative.

The lowest values of the CWB from -170 to -189 mm occurred in the Środkowomazowiecka Lowlands and eastern parts of Południowomazowieckie Hills. A slightly smaller water deficit was recorded in the Lowlands: Północnomazowiecka, Poludniowopodlaska and the western territory of the Lublin Uplands, in those areas the water deficit ranged from -150 to -169 mm. The relatively large water shortages have also been reported in other areas of south-eastern Poland, and in these areas the water deficit ranged from -120 to -149 mm. In the north, north-east and south-west parts of Poland, the CWB ranged from -50 to -119 mm.

CWB values, relative to the situation of the prior 10 days have increased by an average of 19 mm. Still a large part of Poland (except for the mountains and the north of the country) has a shortage of water.

During the sixty-day period, a substantial area of the country reported a large increase in the value of CWB, in some areas this increase was as much as 50 mm, resulting in a smaller water deficit in some parts of Poland. Only in south-eastern Poland saw a large increase in the water deficit, and in some places the CWB values were reduced by as much as 50 mm compared to the situation from 10 days ago.

July this year was warm. The highest air temperature was recorded in south-western Poland, from 19.5 to 20.5°C, in the north-east direction the temperature was dropping and in the lower parts of the country, the Suwalki Lake District was 17.5-18°C. The Śląska and the Wielkopolska Lowland air temperature was higher than the long-term average (1971-2000) by more than 2°C, in central Poland was higher by 1-2°C and in north-eastern and north of the country was close to the long-term average.

In the first ten days of August, the air temperature was very high. The maximum temperature reached 35-37°C. The highest average ten-day air temperature was over 22°C and occurred in the whole of southern Poland, and the highest from 23 to 23.5°C was recorded in the Śląsko-Krakowska and Małopolska Highlands and the western areas of the Śląska Lowlands. In Poland, the north was a bit cooler. The coldest area, but still warm, was on the coastal region. In this region the average ten days air temperature was 20 to 21°C. In the second ten days of August in Poland, it was definitely cooler, the prevailing air temperature within the country ranged from 16 to 18°C. The area with the highest air temperature in the second ten days of August was in Sandomierz Basin, in the area it was from 19 to 19.5°C.

A lower temperature and lower insolation was witnessed in the last ten days (of sixty days period) in Poland, compared to the previous reported period where there was a reduction of evapotranspiration over the sixty days period. Average evapotranspiration for the country was 246 mm and was lower by 12 mm compared to the previous period. The highest evapotranspiration occurred in the Lublin and the Malopolska Highlands, Śląska, Mazowiecka, Wielkopolska Lowlands and Lubuskie Lake District, ranged from 260 to 290 mm. However, the lowest evapotranspiration (about 200 mm) was found in the northern parts of the country.

Poland in terms of precipitation in July was also very diverse with the lowest rainfall occurring in Mazowsze, which ranged from 20 to 30 mm, and in the belt between Kielce and Mława were even lower than 20 mm. The area reported rainfall well below the norm (about 20% of normal). However, the highest rainfall was recorded in the Mazurskie Lake District and the Zachodniosudeckim foothills and was about 100 mm. The precipitation norms were exceeded on the Gdansk Embankment, by up to 200%. This year July in terms of precipitation in Poland in most of the country was dry, and in some places even extremely dry.

In the first and second ten days of August, the lowest rainfall from a few to 10 mm was recorded in south-eastern and eastern Poland, and in some places of this area there was no precipitation. The highest rainfall ranging from 50 to 70 mm were recorded in the south-western and north-eastern Polish territory (in the first ten days of August) and in northern parts of country (second ten days of month).

In the previous sixty-day period, the area with the greatest water deficit was the southern regions of Mazowsze and Podlasie, Lublin, Subcarpathian. Small precipitation or lack of them in the south-eastern part of Poland saw the water balance of plants grown in Mazowsze, Lublin, Carpathian, and in the eastern parts of the Malopolska Upland deteriorate significantly and caused the threat of drought for legumes, potato and fruit bushes.