The lack of
\nprecipitations in the past few weeks caused the Danube’s water level to drop to
\nnear-record lows, with the river’s discharge down to half its usual average at
\nthis time of the year. In Galati, in southeastern Romania, a group of sand
\nislands has surfaced right in the middle of the river. In spite of these
\nproblems, the navigable channel has not been blocked on either sector of the
\nriver, the Romanian Naval Authority has announced. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, on certain
\nsectors traffic unfolds with difficulty. In the southern areas of Zimnicea and
\nBechet tens of ships have been stationed and they are only allowed to pass one
\nat a time. The Danube’s Giurgiu and
\nDrobeta Turnu Severin areas, in the south-west, are also faced with similar
\nproblems. Authorities have warned navigators to be cautious and use water level
\nradars and thus avoid getting stranded.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Farmers have also
\nbeen affected by the lack of precipitations. The extreme temperatures and the
\nsevere drought have brought underground water down to a
\ndramatically low level, which has in turn seriously damaged this year’s crops.
\nThe wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower yields will be much smaller than last
\nyear with the most difficult situation being reported in north-eastern Romania. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Farmers have called on the Agriculture Ministry for support, asking for a state
\naid scheme that would benefit farmland owners, lessors, lessees, associations
\nand administrators with sharecrop farmers’ associations, groups of producers and
\nfarmers’ co-operatives. The state aid must be made available immediately,
\nfarmers’ representatives say, for farmers to be able to resume the production
\ncycle as soon as possible. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In answer to the farmers’ demands, the Agriculture
\nMinister Daniel Constantin has explained that Romania needs the European
\nCommission’s approval to pay damages higher than 15,000 euros. The EC must be
\nalso notified in the case of smaller amounts, of up to 15,000 euros, although
\nthey are granted from the state budget. Experts have criticized the low pace of
\nthese procedures, as Romania keeps losing a significant part of its cereal
\ncrops. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Things are not at all likely to improve in the coming period
\neither, as meteorologists have
\nannounced that the heat wave, which has gripped Romania, is here to stay, with only several rain showers reported in
\nisolated areas. Therefore, extreme heat and thermal discomfort is what Romania
\nwill be faced with in the upcoming
\nperiod. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Danubes water level has dropped dramatically over the past few days due to prolonged drought, making navigation extremely difficult.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":64865,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[33827,29163,29167,38116],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-64864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-crops","tag-drought","tag-extreme-heat","tag-state-aid-scheme"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n