Dry start of summer puts Poland on drought alert

Summer has only just begun but experts in Poland are warning that a vast part of the country could be affected by what officials describe as hydrological drought, and weather forecasts show there is much cause for concern.

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Drought could pose a threat to some 1,689 municipalities in Poland, or 68 percent of the total number, while 26 percent of the farmland is already suffering from drought, Prof. Andrzej Doroszewski from the agricultural meteorology department at Poland's Institute of Plant Cultivation and Soil Science, said on Monday.

In the eastern Lubelskie province, farmers are already speaking of a looming threat to crops that need regular watering: "first and foremost the spring cereal, then the winter cereal, strawberry shrubs and pulses,” Doroszewski said.

Agnieszka Bielawska has this report.

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