Soil moisture update by VanderSat – Europe October 2021
October 7, 2021
dequate soil moisture conditions favored summer crops in Central Europe. Yield potentials in South and Southeast Europe are negatively impacted
The overall dry conditions that built up during the summer months in Southern and Southeastern European regions negatively affected summer crops, as well as grassland growth. Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Slovenia, Croatia, Italy and Greece were notably hit until the end of September, although the distribution of drier-than-normal days slightly differed depending on the region considered. Conversely, Central European countries (Czechia, Slovakia, Austria) benefited from sufficient moisture, favoring the yield of corn, sugar beet and potatoes(source).
Surplus of moisture created favorable conditions for summer crops in eastern Germany and Poland, especially for grain maize. Nonetheless, the above-average number of rainy days in August prevented fields and crops from drying. This was reflected in the extension of the harvesting period and in the delay of rapeseed sowing in some of those regions (source).
Measured soil moisture excess/deficits map
status 30th of September 2021
VanderSat soil moisture satellite data 20 day backward looking average, deviation from climatology top 10 centimeters.
