The Effects of Drought in Romania
The Danubes water level has dropped dramatically over the past few days due to prolonged drought, making navigation extremely difficult.
Mihai Pelin, 06.08.2015, 12:49
The lack of
precipitations in the past few weeks caused the Danube’s water level to drop to
near-record lows, with the river’s discharge down to half its usual average at
this time of the year. In Galati, in southeastern Romania, a group of sand
islands has surfaced right in the middle of the river. In spite of these
problems, the navigable channel has not been blocked on either sector of the
river, the Romanian Naval Authority has announced.
Nevertheless, on certain
sectors traffic unfolds with difficulty. In the southern areas of Zimnicea and
Bechet tens of ships have been stationed and they are only allowed to pass one
at a time. The Danube’s Giurgiu and
Drobeta Turnu Severin areas, in the south-west, are also faced with similar
problems. Authorities have warned navigators to be cautious and use water level
radars and thus avoid getting stranded.
Farmers have also
been affected by the lack of precipitations. The extreme temperatures and the
severe drought have brought underground water down to a
dramatically low level, which has in turn seriously damaged this year’s crops.
The wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower yields will be much smaller than last
year with the most difficult situation being reported in north-eastern Romania.
Farmers have called on the Agriculture Ministry for support, asking for a state
aid scheme that would benefit farmland owners, lessors, lessees, associations
and administrators with sharecrop farmers’ associations, groups of producers and
farmers’ co-operatives. The state aid must be made available immediately,
farmers’ representatives say, for farmers to be able to resume the production
cycle as soon as possible.
In answer to the farmers’ demands, the Agriculture
Minister Daniel Constantin has explained that Romania needs the European
Commission’s approval to pay damages higher than 15,000 euros. The EC must be
also notified in the case of smaller amounts, of up to 15,000 euros, although
they are granted from the state budget. Experts have criticized the low pace of
these procedures, as Romania keeps losing a significant part of its cereal
crops.
Things are not at all likely to improve in the coming period
either, as meteorologists have
announced that the heat wave, which has gripped Romania, is here to stay, with only several rain showers reported in
isolated areas. Therefore, extreme heat and thermal discomfort is what Romania
will be faced with in the upcoming
period.
