2018 was a particularly 'harsh' year for weather in Germany....in terms of a lengthy and rare drought. In my particular region (Hessen, the central state of Germany).....the last real rainfall that I saw was around the end of April. A light shower or two occurred in June (call them sprinkle episodes), and the drought really didn't end until mid-September when the fall rains came back onto the scene.
Local farmers? Well, they took the hit. If you planted corn in Hessen, unless you irrigated, you lost the entire crop.
Toward July of last year, I made a big drive down to the northern edge of Bavaria, and found fantastic crops of corn standing there.....they'd had the rainfall on schedule. So it wasn't a national drought, but it came fairly close to that.
This morning, the weather experts talk of a repeat. The chief problem if this occurs? Farmers here can afford a total loss on crops for one single season, but to suggest a second season right after that? It bring discouragement, and questions if this might occur a third time.
Historians will point out that there have been cycles like this before in Germany, and even cycles of too much rainfall...causing crop losses as well.
But this adds to the public belief of climate change, and it convinces people that it's permanent. All of this dramatic business....make politics even more difficult in the end.
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