Cold shock in May: Snow and rain endanger the harvest!

Cold shock in May: Snow and rain endanger the harvest!

Weinbaugebieten in der Steiermark, Österreich - On May 16, 2025, the low "Lorenz" in Austria causes a striking cold shock. It not only brings cool temperatures and rain showers, but also lively wind that lasts until the weekend. The deep moves from Poland towards Eastern Europe and thus influences the weather across the country. In the coming week, the current will rotate on the southwest, which can be expected. However, current temperatures are significantly below the long -term average for this season.

While the alpine north side will be affected by dense clouds and rain showers on Friday, the south is friendlier before the clouds are condensed there in the afternoon. The temperatures range between 11 and 17 degrees on Friday. For the weekend, rain showers are repeated in northern and eastern Austria, while the south is temporarily shaped by the sun and clouds.

drought in northern and eastern Austria

In parallel to the cool weather conditions, another weather phenomenon in Northern and Eastern Austria opens up: extreme drought. Some weather stations are heading for negative records for rainfall. In the last two and a half months, for example, only 16 l/m² have been registered in Wiener Neustadt, while Vienna and Graz have values ​​around 20 to 30 l/m². Nationwide, 40 percent of the average rainfall for a comparable winter of the past 30 years is now missing.

The continued drought is favored by frequent high pressure, while fronts from the west mainly bring precipitation in western Austria. In the east and northeast, the rainfall is so low that they are comparable to a summer drought. However, the Lower Austria Chamber of Agriculture expresses all -clear because the plants have been well cared for in the past few months and many are in hibernation.

challenges for agriculture

The current climatic conditions represent a serious challenge for agriculture. The cold period delays the growth of crops by up to two weeks and could lead to crop failures among fruit growers, especially in wine -growing areas such as Styria and Burgenland. These problems illustrate how the agricultural sector is directly affected by climate change, which is characterized by warmer medium and extreme temperatures as well as changed precipitation patterns.

Studies show that such climatic changes affect agricultural productivity worldwide and thus also endanger nutritional security. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), about a quarter of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions are due to agriculture. This situation requires a sustainable climate protection strategy that includes anticipation, planning and long -term thinking.

Overall, it can be seen that the current weather conditions in Austria face both direct challenges and long -term climate effects for agriculture. While cool and moist northern currents prevail, the drought in other parts of the country remains an pressing problem.