Polish hydrolog Prof. Paweł Rowiński outlines possible outcomes for water situation amid climate concerns.
Will There Be a Drought in Poland?
Director of the Institute of Geophysics of the Polish Academy of Sciences Prof. Paweł Rowiński spoke about how this year’s winter may affect the hydrological situation in Poland in the later part of the year. The expert stated that maintaining a thick snow cover minimizes the risk of drought.
“Of course, the beginning of the year does not yet indicate how the next eleven months will go, but I think that entering the spring season will be much better than in previous years,” said Prof. Rowiński quoted by the farmer.pl portal via PAP.
Two Scenarios for Poland’s Hydrological Situation
The hydrolog described two possible scenarios. One assumes slow melts and pre-spring, during which the temperature at night can drop below zero, but during the day it will be slightly above zero.
“This would actually be such a dream scenario, when the soil becomes sufficiently moistened and the groundwater deficits, with which we always enter a new season, will be much smaller or there will be none at all,” said Prof. Rowiński.
The second scenario assumes a sudden temperature increase and rapid snow melt. Then there may be local floods, and even inundations. “Under such conditions, there may also be local floods resulting from the snow melting itself, where there is a lot of it, and the infrastructure is not properly adapted,” added the expert.
Ministry Developing Wetland Protection Strategy
The Ministry of Climate and Environment is working on a document that will be an important element of a plan to counter threats related to climate change. It is about the first in the history of Poland strategy for the protection and restoration of wetland areas.
“The adoption of a wetland protection strategy in Poland will be a historic moment. Currently, we do not have a strategic document that would set the direction of action in the realities of climate change and the growing water crisis. This is a challenge not only for nature protection, but also for agriculture, where the water problem is constantly deepening,” said Deputy Minister of Climate and Environment Mikołaj Dorożała.
The adoption of the strategy is planned for next year.
