In Poland, following an unseasonably warm spell, orchard and vineyard proprietors have resorted to igniting bonfires to mitigate the impact of a sudden cold snap on their crops. The preceding warm phase, with temperatures exceeding 25°C, induced premature blooming of plants, now susceptible to the recent plummet in temperatures to as low as -8°C. The resilience of young fruit flower buds to cold is limited to approximately -2°C. The current cold conditions have led some growers to anticipate a potential reduction in yield by up to 70%, describing the situation as "dire" and projecting an increase in fruit prices for the year.

Notably, the warm period in late March and early April recorded temperatures consistently above 20°C, with some regions witnessing the highest March temperatures on record. For instance, Tarnów experienced a high of 26.4°C on 30 March. This warmth accelerated the budding process in fruit trees. However, recent weeks have seen a reversion to below-freezing temperatures at night.

Jarosław Głąb, a fruit grower in central Poland, reported a failure rate of 60-70% in the blossoms of his plum, apple, pear, and cherry orchards due to frost. "\[The buds\] simply won't stay on the trees, everything will fall down," Głąb expressed, emphasizing the necessity of ongoing efforts to salvage the remaining crops.

Source - https://www.freshplaza.com