On June 2–3, 2025, the sixth and final meeting of the project Extreme Droughts and Their Impact on Agriculture in Selected Continental Climates of Europe was held at the Faculty of Geology and Geography, Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski." Research teams from Sofia University, the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences – Vienna (BOKU), and Comenius University – Bratislava presented key findings and discussed prospects for future collaboration.
Dr. Martin Gera (Comenius University) reported regression analyses demonstrating the influence of minimum and maximum air temperatures, precipitation, and drought on wheat and maize yields in selected regions. These results identified climatically critical months for crop development and productivity.
Prof. Nina Nikolova (Sofia University) presented the Bulgarian team’s findings, emphasizing the effectiveness of the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) in assessing drought impacts on yields. The results aligned closely with those of the Slovak team, further validating the regression-based approach. A comparative analysis was conducted on the occurrence and frequency of droughts with varying intensity.
Prof. Josef Eitzinger (BOKU) introduced the GIS-based ARIS system for drought monitoring in major crops. This method builds on a modified version of the FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper No. 56, incorporating the Penman-Monteith equation for estimating reference evapotranspiration.
The meeting also addressed regional climate analyses and the role of local physico-geographical factors in shaping drought patterns and their agricultural impacts. Discussions extended to the preparation of joint scientific publications, which will offer methodological insights into drought assessment indices and provide a comparative analysis of drought effects on cereal yields across the three countries.
In addition to the scientific work carried out under the project, the micrometeorological measurements conducted by the Department of Climatology were also presented. The research teams visited the Botanical Garden of Sofia University, where one of the department's automatic meteorological stations is located. The visit to the Sofia University Museum and the University Library also sparked great interest, as the international guests had the opportunity to learn about the university’s history and its rich library collection.
