After wet autumn, extremely snowy winter, and rainy early spring, this year we observe a significant improvement in soil moisture conditions throughout the country. In most Polish rivers, water levels range from low and medium to high. The water deficit, observed in the spring of 2020, especially visible in wetlands, peat bogs, and riparian forests, does not occur this season. After the recent intense rainfall, the level of moisture in the subsurface layer of the soil has significantly improved, but in the deeper layers, there is still a water deficit.

"Seasonal weather changes, including lower temperatures and greater snowfall, may have been influenced by events related to the Sars-Cov-2 coronavirus pandemic. Many studies indicate that the lockdown of global economies has resulted in a reduction in the amount of greenhouse gases produced and a temporary decrease in their concentration in the atmosphere. However, only the analysis of trends, in the long run, will show whether these changes are permanent and will be reflected in the course of climatic conditions around the world, in Europe and Poland," Grzegorz Walijewski, spokesman for IMWM-PIB, said.

This does not mean, however, that in Poland the problem of water shortages and drought disappeared overnight. The problem of drought must be viewed from the perspective of many years and analyzed as a climatic phenomenon, not related to seasonal weather fluctuations. Projections of the European Environment Agency indicate that in the years 2041-2070 the frequency of meteorological droughts, calculated by the SPI index, will increase in almost all of Europe – also in Poland. 

(WBJ)