Climate change meets Upper Austria: Where is the rain in February?

Climate change meets Upper Austria: Where is the rain in February?

February 2025 brings worrying news for agriculture in Upper Austria: In January, only half as much precipitation fell as on average in the past few years, and so far there was hardly any precipitation in February. Helmut Feitzlmayr from the Chamber of Agriculture warns that there could soon be considerable problems for crop construction without urgently needed rain. The fertilization of rapeseed and winter cereals in particular is of great importance, since the effectiveness of the fertilizer suffers without water. The first cut in the grassland, which is due at the end of April, depends on sufficient water in March, as reported.

The situation in southern Upper Austria has proven to be particularly dramatic, where the precipitation in January was low. The country's hydrographic service emphasizes that many measuring points in the country are on average overall, but shows an increasing tendency towards drought. The Mühlviertel, the pre -Alpine area and parts of the Innviertel, which are more sensitive to drought due to their geology are particularly affected. In the meantime, data from the German Weather Service show that the rainfall was also below average in Germany, especially between January 2022 and January 2025. This correlation underlines the worrying trends in the distribution of precipitation that affect both Austria and Germany, such as Statista