Poland will pay more than 500 million zlotys ($135 million) in compensation to the thousands of farmers who have lost crops and fodder because of drought and unusually high temperatures, the agriculture minister said Tuesday. Authorities estimate tens of thousands of Polish farms involving at least 800,000 hectares (2 million acres) have lost large portions of their crops, meat and milk production as pastures have dried up. Grains, corn, vegetables, and fruit have not been growing ripe and some hydrology experts say the lost water won't be compensated until the snow thaws in the spring. Unusually high temperatures of up to 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) hit the region in July and persisted for weeks. That brought river and groundwater levels down and restricted navigation on Europe's second largest river, the Danube in Romania, and on Poland's main Vistula River. The heat also affected Poland's power grid and cuts were briefly imposed because everyone was using fans, while hot rivers failed to properly cool the generators. Losses of over 30 percent of usual crops — a level entitling to compensation — have been confirmed in over 100,000 farms and the counting continues. The government has earmarked over 500 million zlotys for compensations. Agricultural losses were also high in countries like the Czech Republic and Romania. Source - http://www.freshplaza.com/