Slovakia has warmed up by two degrees Celsius and the average annual temperature in Slovakia is similar to the climatic conditions in the Mediterranean in the last century, the climatologist Jozef Pecho from the Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute (SHMU) said at the scientific conference held on the occasion of Earth Day on Thursday. The conference was organised by the Environment Ministry.
Warming in Slovakia will continue due to climate change, predicts the climatologist. It will be necessary to take into account a warming of 3.5 to 7.5 degrees Celsius. "This will bring a lot of extreme weather," he noted. It will mean that the climate on Slovakia's territory will be similar to that of the southern Balkans and the Mediterranean.
"As long as climate warming continues, we'll approach an average annual temperature of 13 degrees in the coming decades," said Pecho, adding that these are already the climatic conditions of northern to central Italy. In extremely hot years, this could be at the level of southern Turkey. "Our children will experience a very different climate, which will be very critical for us," he opines.
Pecho stated that Slovakia has not had a significantly cold year for a few years, and problems with drought have also been growing. It comes more often, faster and people have a problem with it in everyday life. "It's often said that we, the young generation, can't be blamed, that it is the legacy of our fathers. This is not entirely true. Our generation already has a lot of guilt and complicity in this problem," said the climatologist.
As a result of climate change, the vegetation period of plants is shifting in Slovakia and starting much earlier. Frosts in April and May thus endanger agricultural production. Farmers are thus endangered by duplicate years of drought and floods. According to Pecho, Slovakia is a hydrological power, but in the future this may not be a matter of course and much of the country may not have enough water.
Source: TASR
