Lithuania has declared a national emergency due to unprecedented rainfall this summer, which has severely impacted its agricultural sector. Government reports indicate that between 50% and 70% of the nation's harvest has been damaged or destroyed. The continuous downpours have caused widespread flooding of agricultural fields, rendering harvesting equipment unusable and significantly reducing the quality of remaining crops.
The extreme weather experienced in June and July of this year marks the second-heaviest rainfall on record for Lithuania, with only the events of 2007 recording more precipitation. This situation is similar to that in neighboring Latvia, which has also declared a national emergency due to adverse weather affecting its agriculture. Latvian Agriculture Minister Armands Krauze has acknowledged the significant damage to his country's crops, stating that the harvest may not be salvageable. The declaration in Lithuania highlights the profound impact of extreme weather events, increasingly linked to climate change, on national food security and economic stability. The Baltic region is generally experiencing shifts in weather patterns, with some areas facing drought while Lithuania and Latvia are battling excessive moisture. This underscores a shared environmental challenge requiring regional awareness and adaptive strategies. Historically, Lithuania has faced weather-related agricultural challenges, such as in 2017 when heavy rains caused significant crop damage and led to a state of emergency in several municipalities. However, the current situation is of a more widespread and severe nature, with the June and July rainfall being the second highest in recorded history. The government's swift declaration of a national emergency aims to provide necessary support to affected farmers and mitigate the broader economic consequences of this agricultural crisis.