PM Babiš calls national drought coalition meeting

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) has called another meeting of the National Coalition for Combating Drought for next Monday. He announced the move on X, a day after reports that the Husinec reservoir in South Bohemia had become the first Czech dam to almost dry up. Babiš said the coalition would discuss the measures already being implemented with experts and decide on further steps to help mitigate the effects of the situation.

The government revived the National Coalition for Combating Drought in August following a spell of hot and dry weather that reduced river flows across the Czech Republic, in some cases to historic lows.

Following the coalition’s August meeting, Babiš announced that one of its first tasks would be for ministries, together with the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (ČHMÚ), to draw up a map of around 500 to 1,000 problem areas where water is disappearing fastest. The coalition is also expected to assess existing drought-fighting programmes and decide which have been successful and are worth continuing and financially supporting.