Heat and a lack of rainfall have dried out farmland quickly again this year, but on the Great Hungarian Plain the problem runs deeper. In several areas, water scarcity has become a long-term condition, leaving its mark on groundwater, agricultural land and natural habitats.
The situation on the Great Hungarian Plain was reported in detail by Portfolio, which also received comments from Hungary’s National Directorate General for Water Management.
Soil is critically dry in several regions
According to HungaroMet, showers have occurred in several parts of the country in recent weeks, but only small areas received meaningful rainfall. Most of Hungary remained dry, and there is little sign of the precipitation deficit easing in the short term.
Over the past 30 days, rainfall in parts of central Hungary did not even reach 20 millimetres. Nationally, 30 to 50 millimetres less rain fell than the long-term average, while the 90-day precipitation total was 40 to 100 millimetres below normal.
The condition of the soil is especially concerning. The upper 30-centimetre layer still contains some moisture in certain regions, but the 30–60 centimetre layer is critically dry across much of the country. In many places, soil moisture does not even reach 30% of the amount that plants can use. Across large parts of the Great Hungarian Plain and Mezőföld, the upper one-metre soil layer is short of 100 to 130 millimetres of water compared with saturation levels.
Rain is now less important for cereals and rapeseed, but row crops are suffering increasingly from the dry conditions. The intense heat of recent days is making the situation worse by increasing evaporation, while the rainfall needed to offset this remains limited.
Previously: The Danube–Tisza region is turning into a semi-desert, farming is becoming increasingly difficult on the Homokhátság, and more farmers are leaving their land.
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A Lake Balaton’s worth of water is missing from the Homokhátság
Water scarcity on the Great Hungarian Plain did not develop from one year to the next, and signs of drying have been visible on the Homokhátság for a particularly long time. The area is not only struggling because of this year’s drought: groundwater levels have been falling for years, and in many places natural replenishment can no longer keep pace with the loss.
In response to Portfolio’s question, the National Directorate General for Water Management said that the Homokhátság is now short of nearly 2 cubic kilometres of water compared with the long-term average. That is roughly equivalent to the volume of water in Lake Balaton.
Even this figure may not show the full extent of the shortage, as the long-term average already includes periods when groundwater levels had fallen significantly. As a result, the actual water deficit on the Great Hungarian Plain could be two or three times higher than the estimate.
The Homokhátság is especially vulnerable because its sandy soil retains moisture poorly. Falling rainfall and stronger evaporation caused by warmer weather add further pressure, steadily depleting the region’s water reserves.
Water use could be prioritised in a severe shortage
In the event of a serious water shortage, Hungarian law allows restrictions on water use, although such a decision would not be made by the National Directorate General for Water Management. It would fall to the competent water authority. Under the rules, drinking water supply, public health-related water use and disaster response would take priority in a more serious shortage.
In practice, this means restrictions would first target less essential uses of water rather than basic household supply. These could include certain recreational, holiday-related, economic or irrigation purposes.
Restrictions on garden wells could also come into question only if, in a given area, the replenishment of underground water reserves remained consistently below the amount being extracted.
According to the National Directorate General for Water Management, there is no single nationwide groundwater level or water deficit threshold that would automatically trigger restrictions. Any such step would have to be decided based on the water management situation of the specific region.
