Romania's soil drought spreads to hill areas and Carpathian interior, ANM forecaster says
Romanian meteorologists say the 2026 soil drought has hit western, north-western and parts of central Romania, including hill areas, while the Danube remains at critical levels and the two Cernavodă reactors are still shut down.
Meteorologist Raul Gabriel Ilea of the National Meteorological Administration (ANM) said temperatures have been above multiannual averages across the whole country since the start of autumn. Instead of the 20-22°C typical of October, Romania is currently seeing values of up to 30°C, which the article describes as an "Indian summer".
As can be noticed, since the start of autumn until now we have had temperature values above multiannual averages across the whole country.
In past years the south of the country was usually more affected by drought. In 2026, Ilea said, the western, north-western and partly central regions have had extreme soil drought, leaving the ground without water even in hill areas and the interior of the Carpathian arc. He said several rains are expected but will be insufficient to end the soil drought, and most precipitation may fall at night while days stay warm. The Danube has dropped significantly this summer, and the two Cernavodă reactors remain shut down. Forecasters expect the river to rise slightly but not enough to return to normal flow for this period.
