Brno, July 21 (CTK) – A Czech online system of monitoring drought will be further developed to improve the prognosis of crop yields, predict drought more precisely and cover the situation in the neighbouring states, Eva Jurkova, from the Global Change Research Centre, told CTK yesterday.
The integrated system, available at www.intersucho.cz, was primarily designed for farmers, but it is also used by gardeners, growers of vegetables, fruits and wine, and foresters.
The drought situation is updated every Monday, including data on drought intensity, relative soil saturation and impacts on vegetation and agriculture.
These days, the system shows that a great part of the Czech Republic is hit by extreme drought.
The present drought has been the worst since 2003. It has affected rivers and streams, but also groundwater levels.
The situation is likely to get worse because no intensive rain is expected in the days to come, only storms, Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (CHMU) deputy head Jan Danhelka said.
The issue has become very serious and the government will deal with possible ways of reducing the negative impacts of drought at its regular meeting on Wednesday.
The Global Change Research Centre is seated in Brno and it operates within the Czech Academy of Sciences. In September, its experts will present a book dealing with drought on Czech territory in detail.
About 40 people have been working on the drought monitoring system, from the Centre, Brno universities as well as other Czech and foreign institutions.
In future, a Central European centre for monitoring drought may be established.
