As Europe experiences an unusual cold spell, numerous fruit growers are apprehensive about their summer harvests. The spring in Europe has been notably colder than anticipated, raising concerns about the continent’s food supply. Since mid-April, temperatures in the Balkan states have plummeted from near-record highs to unseasonable lows, resulting in snow and ice across much of the region.
Franjo Crnković, a fruit farmer in Croatia, described the abrupt shift in weather, saying, “It was very warm, we even had temperatures of up to 30 one day, and then all of a sudden it dropped to minus. The fruits and all of this are all destroyed, it’s over, if there are any apples left it will be good.” Similarly, strawberry farms in Poland have suffered from frosts as low as -8°C.
However, in the Netherlands, many farmers have adopted a creative approach by spraying water on the buds of their fruit trees. This forms a protective frozen layer that releases heat when it melts, thereby keeping the buds slightly warmer and potentially preventing them from perishing. Joost van Diepen, a fruit farmer, explained, “Ice already formed on the branches, and also on the fruit. You see the flower and underneath it is the fruit, which is encased in ice. That layer of ice provides certain insulation and latent heat. This heat keeps the temperature of the fruit just above zero.”
Furthermore, heavy snowfalls at higher altitudes have posed challenges for drivers, prompting many to switch back to winter tires. Forecasters anticipate that the extreme weather conditions will persist into the following week.
