A drought of varying intensity is affecting up to 90% of Slovakia according to the Slovak Hydrometeorological Office (SHMÚ). The meteorologists called the current state of drought alarming and forecast it would become even worse throughout the rest of summer. Over the first half of 2019 the lack of rain was most significant in western, north-western and northern Slovakia. The town of Pieštany in the Trnava region is an area where spells of drought have been accumulating over the last three years. "The analysis into precipitation deficits in individual decades since the later half of the 20th century established that the state of affairs in Piestany is the worst one in all analysed decades since 1951. Not even this year's May, which saw an extraordinary surfeit in precipitation, helped to reverse that trend," reads the text. Soil moisture in Slovakia now stands below 1961-2010 long-term average figures, warn the meteorologists.
The lack of soil moisture adversely affects almost every sector of the economy, including agriculture. "Even if it's possible to use irrigation in some places, there's a price tag on its operation and this fuels the growth in theprices of agricultural commodities. Of course, even the producers then start to calculate what is still economically feasible to cultivate and what isn't anymore," said the SHMÚ.
