On January 1st, 2023, 18.7°C was the highest temperature ever to be recorded in Kraków Poland. The average area air temperature in January 2023 in Poland was 2.9°C and was as much as 4.0 degrees higher than the long-term average for that month (climatic normal period 1991-2020). The increasing temperature of winter months in Poland is associated with significant changes in the occurrence of snow cover. As winter warms, the number of days with snow cover also decreases. The snow cover lying on the surface of the earth is a huge amount of fresh water. This water is not immediately available, but slowly melts into the ground with the arrival of spring, and the raising of temperatures. Small amount of snowfall or strong snowfall which disappears and melts right after falling, will translate into a low water content in the soil, resulting in agricultural drought, and this, combined with the lack of rainfall in the summer, will translate into a shortage of water that plants, animal and humans need so much. It should also be emphasised that a rainy winter, but without snowfall, will not provide a sufficient supply of water, because it will quickly drain from the ecosystems.

1. Charakterystyka wybranych elementów klimatu w Polsce w styczniu 2023 roku, IMGW-PIB Centrum Modelowania Meteorologicznego 2. https://wodnesprawy.pl/znaczenie-pokrywy-snieznej-w-procesie-zasilania-rze/