Hungary is facing an increasingly severe drought, with almost 89% of the country now experiencing at least moderate agricultural drought, according to the latest data published by the national meteorological service, HungaroMet.
The agency’s latest drought map shows that 89% of Hungary’s territory is currently affected by moderate, severe or extreme agricultural drought. Of that area:
- 1.5% is experiencing severe drought,
- 59.4% is classified as heavily affected,
- 28.4% is under moderate drought.
Only 3.9% of the country remains free from drought, while 6.8% is experiencing only mild drought conditions.
Eastern Hungary hit hardest
The most serious conditions are affecting the Great Hungarian Plain (Alföld), the eastern half of Transdanubia and parts of the Little Hungarian Plain, where large areas are experiencing severe or heavy drought. According to HungaroMet, only south-western Hungary and a few isolated areas in the north-east currently have soil moisture levels considered optimal.
The situation is particularly worrying in the counties that produce most of Hungary’s summer crops. More than 91% of these agricultural areas are suffering from at least moderate drought.
Rainfall has brought little relief
Although scattered showers and thunderstorms occurred on most days during the past week, rainfall was highly uneven. While some localised areas received more than 10 millimetres of rain, over half of Hungary (particularly east of the Danube) received less than 2 millimetres.
The recent rainfall has only moistened the top 10 to 30 centimetres of soil in some places. However, the upper one-metre soil layer remains critically dry across most of the country.
HungaroMet estimates that soil moisture is currently 140 to 170 millimetres below saturation across much of the Great Hungarian Plain and 110 to 150 millimetres below normal in most parts of Transdanubia, excluding the south-west.
Forecast offers mixed outlook
Meteorologists expect wetter air to arrive from the west, bringing showers and thunderstorms through the weekend. Western Hungary is likely to receive the most rainfall, which could ease drought conditions locally.
However, eastern Hungary is expected to receive significantly less precipitation, meaning drought conditions there are likely to worsen further during the coming days.
HungaroMet updates its agricultural drought index daily, providing farmers and the public with information on the extent and intensity of drought across the country throughout the growing season.
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