Drought to persist in Slovenia for at least 10 more days

Slovenia is grappling with an expanding drought that has already significantly impacted agricultural harvests. The country's environmental agency (Arso) reports that extremely dry conditions are prevalent in northwestern, central, and eastern regions, with parts of Goriška also experiencing severe dryness. These arid conditions are expected to continue for at least another 10 days.

Across Slovenia, the last 30 days have seen dry to very dry conditions compared to the long-term average. The most severe dryness is concentrated around Ljubljana, in Gorenjska, Notranjska, Bovška, and parts of Spodnje Posavje, Podravje, and Savinjska, where rainfall deficits range from 70 to 100 millimeters. Arso notes that 30 to 50 millimeters of rain would be needed to restore normal water balance in the soil.

While the heat is expected to ease slightly, temperatures are forecast to climb again next week. Some afternoon showers and thunderstorms may occur, particularly in the north. However, Arso anticipates that very or extremely dry conditions will persist in the topsoil across most of the country. River flows nationwide remain low, with about half of the monitoring stations reporting low water levels, and a tenth indicating exceptionally low levels for August. The Mura and Drava rivers are the least watery. Rivers are expected to continue their slow decline, with only minor temporary increases possible in the north and west on Friday night and Saturday. Elsewhere, drought conditions are predicted to intensify.