BRATISLAVA, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- Most of Slovakia has been hit by extremely hot weather this week and the Slovak Hydrometeorogical Institute (SHMU) issued the highest alert for Thursday and Friday with the temperature in southwestern Slovakia expected to reach up to 39 degrees Celsius.
"The high temperature poses a potential risk for people's health, physical activities, and fires," warned SHMU on its website on Wednesday.
Due to the heat, the capital city took precautions such as providing tanks with drinkable water in the city center.
"Current hot weather in Slovakia has also negatively influenced agriculture production," said the spokesperson of the Slovak Agriculture and Food Chamber, Jana Holeciova.
"We expect significant lower crops in the densified cereals like wheat," stressed Holeciova, adding that Slovakia needed to invest in new irrigation systems.
"The country's fertile south-west is being troubled by the drought the most. The drought has deprived farmers of hundreds of thousands of tonnes of grain and fodder for farm animals. The year-on-year drop in crop is estimated at 20 to 30 percent," said Holeciova.
