Silent sky, roaring lands
In the year of two thousand and twenty-two, months of extreme drought hit much of
Europe, including Hungary. Most of the irrigation canals, reservoirs and lakes in the
Great Plain have dried up and the water levels of the country´s two largest lakes, the
"Balaton" and the "Velencei"; lake, are still falling. Both the wildlife and the living
conditions of the people living here have changed radically. Many farmers have been
unable to irrigate their fields and have been forced to harvest their crops prematurely
if they had any left. Maize and sunflower crops in the Great Plain and large parts of
Central Hungary were destroyed and wheat yields were only a fraction of the
average. Livestock farmers are unable to graze their animals and mow on the
grasslands, while the price of fodder has tripled, so those who have not yet gone
bankrupt have decided to liquidate their herds. For most of them, there is no
alternative, as they have been doing this all their lives, symbiosis with the land and
their animals... These changes and their consequences, windstorms, wind erosion,
heat waves, fires, are already having a negative impact on our transport, health and
food supply systems worldwide. And in the summer of this year, several heat waves
hit the region and Hungary. Fully parched grasslands, forests and scrublands
increase the potential for fires. The area burnt in Hungary has increased tenfold
compared to last year, with 54% of fires affected agriculture. Persistent heat waves
are extremely stressful for people living in urban areas, especially the elderly, young
children and people with cardiovascular diseases, causing extreme stress on the
human body. Researchers say that unless we act now, these deadly climatic
conditions could become the norm by the end of the century and according to the
average climate scenarios (REMO-ECHAM5), two thirds area of Hungary will
become semi-desert between 2050 and 2100.