The abnormal heat in Romania is affecting agriculture; part of the country’s harvest is at risk due to lack of water in the soil, Environment Minister Mircea Feket said.
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“We have a week of red heat during the day and tropical nights, it is impossible to even breathe at night. We hope that starting from Thursday the heat will subside, but we still believe that we will not have enough rainfall and agriculture will suffer. I spoke with a farmer who told me that if we don’t intervene in a day or two, some corn crops will be at risk,” Feket said.
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According to him, the forecasts are disappointing; farmers need to pay serious attention to irrigation.
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“Unfortunately, we are faced with a severe drought, the forecasts are also not optimistic, we have problems with the water level in the soil. As for irrigation, we will have to learn how to do this. We are now pumping water or transporting it tens of kilometers away, and we are losing most of it with from the moment of pumping until we get to the place where we water. And since water is an inexhaustible resource, I think we are obliged to use the best technologies,” the minister added.
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Last week, weather forecasters announced a red code for the first time for more than half of Romania, with temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius. On Tuesday, code red is in effect in 37 of Romania’s 41 counties.
