Radio România Internațional

Tag: high temperatures

  • Prolonged drought wreaks havoc on Romania

    Prolonged drought wreaks havoc on Romania

    With record high temperatures and scarce precipitations, the past two years have wreaked havoc on Romania presently witnessing a chronic drought with devastating effects on the economy and the everyday life of its citizens. Restrictions to drinking water consumption have been maintained in more than 4 hundred towns and villages across the country, the most affected regions being the eastern counties of Botoşani, Iaşi, Vrancea, Neamţ and Bacău.

    But water supplies have also been affected in the southern counties of Giurgiu and Gorj and representatives of the Romanian Waters have again urged people to avoid wasting water supplies as reservoirs are presently filled only 78%. Water supplies have been seriously diminished in 120 towns and villages in Botoşani County as reservoirs here cannot accumulate enough water and residents have been advised to make their own minimum reserves during outages.

    In villages around the area, which lack centralized water supplies, wells have completely dried up and people must travel 3-4 kilometers to get water. Against the scarce water supplies, experts urge people to use drinking water only for drinking and resort to alternatives for other activities whenever possible.

    The prolonged drought this summer has wreaked havoc on crops as well. In July this year, field minister Florin Barbu notified EU Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski that large areas of Romania’s farmland had been affected by drought and he has recently called on the European Commission to compensate the Romanian farmers heavily affected by drought.

    Large regions in Romania have been affected by drought and the heavy losses incurred by farmers are jeopardizing the economic viability of the Romanian farms as well as the country’s security interests, Bucharest has reported. ”The significant damage caused by unfavorable weather phenomena are calling for urgent compensations in the basis of an exceptional measure to contribute to solving the specific issues caused by these phenomena” says the letter Romania’s Agriculture Minister Florin Barbu sent to the European Commission. According to the ministry, the total estimated budget of maximum 75.2 million dollars for the crops sown in the autumn of 2023 must be urgently reimbursed to farmers. The low level of precipitations and the temperatures higher than usual this summer have wreaked havoc on the crops sown in spring as well, mainly corn and sunflower on a surface of roughly two million hectares. According to the Minister, Romania has incurred losses of 200 Euros per hectares.

    (bill)

  • Floods in Romania

    Floods in Romania


    The sudden change in temperatures and the melting of snow have caused floods in tens of localities from 15 counties of Romania, including the capital Bucharest. In the counties of Covasna, Braşov (in the center) and Buzău (in the southeast), which were under a code red alert for floods, tens of households, many hectares of farming land, meadows, wells and bridges have been flooded and traffic on certain road segments has been closed temporarily or traffic restrictions have been introduced.



    Due to weather conditions, school was suspended on Wednesday in the commune of Lăzarea (in the center), where, on Tuesday evening, firefighters saved two people caught in their car by the high flood. To control the flood and protect the houses and schools, firefighters piled up sandbags and also used water pumps, where conditions permitted, to remove the water from people’s yards. Also several people and their animals have been evacuated from flooded households.



    Hydrologists issued several code orange and yellow alerts for rivers bursting their banks in several drainage basins in some counties in the center, south and east of Romania. In the south of the country, floods have also damaged scores of localities. The most affected were the counties of Teleorman and Argeş, where the high flood swept through the people’s houses and yards and several road segments were covered by mud.



    The authorities are monitoring the situation in the affected areas and are urging the population to ask for the support of local authorities if they encounter problems related to drinking water supply, food and medicines supply or other necessary stuff. More than three thousand firefighters have been mobilized to intervene in the areas with flooding risk. According to the Interior Ministry, the police and gendarmerie will also be mobilized if necessary.



    Meteorologists have announced that temperatures in Romania in the coming period will be variable, with maximum temperatures ranging from 10 to 18 degrees C. Also, abundant rainfalls are expected on extensive areas.

  • Floods in Romania

    Floods in Romania


    The sudden change in temperatures and the melting of snow have caused floods in tens of localities from 15 counties of Romania, including the capital Bucharest. In the counties of Covasna, Braşov (in the center) and Buzău (in the southeast), which were under a code red alert for floods, tens of households, many hectares of farming land, meadows, wells and bridges have been flooded and traffic on certain road segments has been closed temporarily or traffic restrictions have been introduced.



    Due to weather conditions, school was suspended on Wednesday in the commune of Lăzarea (in the center), where, on Tuesday evening, firefighters saved two people caught in their car by the high flood. To control the flood and protect the houses and schools, firefighters piled up sandbags and also used water pumps, where conditions permitted, to remove the water from people’s yards. Also several people and their animals have been evacuated from flooded households.



    Hydrologists issued several code orange and yellow alerts for rivers bursting their banks in several drainage basins in some counties in the center, south and east of Romania. In the south of the country, floods have also damaged scores of localities. The most affected were the counties of Teleorman and Argeş, where the high flood swept through the people’s houses and yards and several road segments were covered by mud.



    The authorities are monitoring the situation in the affected areas and are urging the population to ask for the support of local authorities if they encounter problems related to drinking water supply, food and medicines supply or other necessary stuff. More than three thousand firefighters have been mobilized to intervene in the areas with flooding risk. According to the Interior Ministry, the police and gendarmerie will also be mobilized if necessary.



    Meteorologists have announced that temperatures in Romania in the coming period will be variable, with maximum temperatures ranging from 10 to 18 degrees C. Also, abundant rainfalls are expected on extensive areas.