Covering more than half of Hungary and crossed by two major rivers, the Great Plain is Hungary's largest landscape. Wetlands, ponds and reed-beds provide shelter for migrating and breeding birds, which also play a major role in controlling harmful and invasive insect species. It has also provided an important source of livelihood for the farmers who settled here in the past, with centuries-old traditions of fishing, farming and livestock rearing. The gradual depletion of former good quality farmland and increased food production demands led to the draining of lakes and marshes.

The lack of winter snow cover and the uneven distribution of precipitation, higher than average temperatures, longer periods of drought and the effects of human interventions have all led to the steady drying out of the region and a steady decline in groundwater levels (1.5-7 meters).

In the year of 2022, 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. Between 2021 and 2022 Hungary experienced the worst drought in 120 years. Today, more and more people are giving up farming and livestock farming, while the Great Plain accounts for a significant part of the country's food production.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) already classified the Sandhills (the heart of the Great Plain) as semi-desert in 2004. This area could be one of the first victims of climate change. If this trend continues, two thirds of Hungary will become semiarid by the end of the century (REMO-ECHAM5 climate model).

My long-term series exploring how the broad impacts of climate change are affecting the people in Hungary, especially in the Great Plains.