- cross-posted to:
- world@quokk.au
- world@quokk.au
- cross-posted to:
- world@quokk.au
- world@quokk.au
Copernicus data shows month was 1.4C above estimated 1850-1900 average used to define pre-industrial level
Some things to unravel here:
Temperature alone does not cause droughts. Precipitation and drought are not exclusive.
Higher temperatures mean higher evaporation, especially in the growth period through more transpiration (plants “sweating” as their normal process of transporting nutrients.)
Precipitation obviously means more water to be available, however short and heavy precipitation mostly creates surface runoff. So rather than the water becoming available for the flora and fauna, it just runs off to the next river and quickly to the sea.
In order for soil moisture to be well maintained it needs continuous precipitation at a rate that can be absorbed by the soil. Furthermore winter precipitation and snow are crucial to prepare for the growth period. A proper layer of snow melting slowly helps greatly to replenish the water in the soil, while the lack of transpiration in winter helps for the water to reach deeper layers.
Here you can see an example for Berlin - Germany, provided by the national meteorological service
As you can see, May was colder than average, however the precipitation was also lower than average. Additionally you can see that precipitation over the past months was mostly concentrated in one or two larger events. At the end of May start of June it rained a bit more consistently.
Subsequently you can see a brief respite for the currently available water, while the past 30 days show a “once in 20-50” year drought in the north of Germany. The second one in five years.
The North Eastern Europe has been blessed with relatively cold weather so far, but it probably won’t last.