Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš convened a drought summit on Sunday and pledged four billion crowns (around 160 million euros) for water-retention projects and dams, after grain yields fell sharply and livestock farmers began emergency feeding.
The National Coalition Against Drought is meeting for only the second time since 2018. The crisis has forced up to 90 percent of the country's 1,400 small hydropower plants to halt operations, and this year's hop harvest could shrink by roughly a fifth. As of early August, 9 percent of forests suffered extreme water deficit and 60 percent high deficit, with up to 70 percent of forest ecosystems showing below-average growth. Average annual temperatures have risen 2.3 °C since 1961.
Farmers are adapting: sunflower plantings have surged to 33,000 hectares, up 12,000 from last year, while warmer southern regions are seeing fig and olive trees introduced, the Czech Agricultural Association said.