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\n By Euronews with AP\n<\/p>\n
\n Published on 21\/07\/2025 – 13:33 GMT+2
\n \u2022Updated
\n 13:45\n <\/p>\n
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A severe drought this summer has left over 1,000 cows and horses without water on a mountain in southeastern Serbia, forcing authorities to bring in emergency supplies.<\/p>\n
The early drought that started in May has affected people, animals and crops throughout the Western Balkans, causing water and power restrictions, disruptions in river traffic and problems in agriculture in this part of southeast Europe.<\/p>\n
At Suva Planina, Serbian for Dry Mountain, cattle owners said they can’t remember the springs ever drying up before mid-August. Lack of water has sent the cattle roaming down the mountain in panic, they said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe haven’t had any rain on the mountain since 27 May,\u201d lamented Nikola Manojlovi\u0107, from the nearby village of Mali Kr\u010dimir.<\/p>\n
This year has brought ‘unseen hardship’ for farmers<\/p>\n
Suva Planina is located about 250 kilometres from Serbia’s capital Belgrade.<\/p>\n
The drought<\/a> has left visible consequences on a plateau at the altitude of some 1,200 metres \u2014 cracked ground has replaced the main water spring, along with dry, yellow grass and dust.<\/p>\n \u201cWe tried to dig new wells but everything has dried up,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was horrible, our cattle had no water for three days, they were screaming.”<\/p>\n Alarmed, authorities drove up water trucks last Thursday, and workers used hoses to fill up a pond from the tanks for the thirsty animals. The Ministry of Agriculture said it will keep sending supplies in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are out of imminent danger,\u201d local municipal chief Milisav Filipovi\u0107 said after the water trucks drove up the mountain. He warned that the situation remains just as bad down the mountain, in villages that have faced restrictions in water supplies<\/a> for weeks now.<\/p>\n \u201cOur farmers don’t recall such a bad and hard year,\u201d Filipovi\u0107 said. \u201cPeople here mostly do farming and use products for own needs, for their existence. This year has brought unseen hardship for them.”<\/p>\n While a spell of rainy weather in July brought some relief, farmers say that the land is too dry deep below the surface to recover easily. Scores of small rivers, lakes and creeks that are normally used in Serbia’s rural areas have dried up.<\/p>\n Farmers have asked for financial help from Serbia’s government, fearing poor yields, which could spike prices. Irrigation systems in the country are underdeveloped, leaving many farmers dependent on the weather.<\/p>\n Jovica Jak\u0161i\u0107, of the Independent Farmers\u2019 Association, told the state RTS television that the damage to the corn is so big already that even if it rained for the rest of the summer, it wouldn’t help.<\/p>\n Persistent drought is causing damage across the region<\/p>\n In neighbouring Bosnia, meteorologists have said that June this year could end up being the driest in recent history, causing huge damage in agriculture.<\/p>\n In eastern Croatia, authorities declared emergency measures in several municipalities along the border with Hungary to deal with the effects of the drought. The country’s vegetable growers have warned that many could go out of business.<\/p>\n Earlier in July, both Albania and Kosovo reported water shortages that also affected electricity production in Albania.<\/p>\n In Hungary, weather-damaged crops have dealt significant blows to the country\u2019s overall GDP. This has prompted Prime Minister Viktor Orb\u00e1n to announce the creation of a \u201cdrought task force\u201d to deal with the problem.<\/p>\n Persistent droughts in the Great Hungarian Plain, in the country\u2019s southeast, have threatened desertification, a process where vegetation recedes due to high heat and low rainfall. The soil remains \u201ccritically dry,\u201d the country\u2019s meteorological service said on Thursday, warning of the negative effects on the crops.<\/p>\n