European agriculture will have to deal with even more extreme weather conditions in the coming years. According to a study by the German Potsdam Institute for Climate Research (PIK), there will be even longer, hotter summers and periods of intense, persistent rainfall.
A new analysis of long-term atmospheric data shows that global warming is making long-term weather patterns in the Northern Hemisphere (North Atlantic, Europe and Siberia) more likely in summer. The number and intensity of extreme weather has already increased in recent decades.
According to scientists, in Europe alone, “about 70 percent of the land area is already affected by weather conditions that persist in one place for a long time.” This also means that it can (continue to) rain in one place for longer than normal. This already seems to be the case in Germany, Poland, Austria, the Czech Republic and Northern Italy.
In several places in Germany and Denmark, heavy agricultural machinery is currently getting stuck in the swampy, deep soil, and many plants are being damaged by flooding. In fields with potatoes, the problem is that much of the soil with the small ridges and furrows in between has been washed away. Many vegetables cannot be grown at the moment.
In central European countries, agriculture is currently not only suffering from flooding of fields and fields, but is also struggling with the consequences of recent weather extremes. Large parts of the strawberry harvest are feared, and the grape harvest for wines could also be disappointing.
After years of summer drought, the opposite is now happening in several EU countries: it has been raining almost non-stop since last summer. The soil has been saturated for a long time. This means that harvesting cannot be done on time, and it is also not possible to plant or sow by machine.
In the Saarland region bordering France, hundreds of agricultural businesses have suffered damage. Farmers in this region now have to deal with flooded fields and destroyed crops. The strawberry and grape harvests in particular are under pressure, and the economic impact is great. Fruit and vegetable farmers are particularly affected here. The Saarland Chamber of Agriculture suspects that more than 300 of the approximately 1,100 agricultural companies will be affected.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed his condolences last week during a working visit ('wearing rubber boots') to the affected area and promised that the government will provide assistance.