Most of Southern Norway, which has been sweltering through unusual heat, was refreshed with welcome rain this week. State authorities said it has reduced the danger of more forest fires but farmers are far from satisfied.
Fully 16 fire-fighting helicopters were on stand-by mode last weekend, as fires continued to flare up all over, also in Finnmark in Northern Norway. Fears of another serious drought like the one in 2018 rose once again.
The state lowered its fire-danger warnings from orange to yellow on Wednesday, though, after rain fell on much of Østlandet, Agder, Sør-Rogaland and Vestlandet. The skies over Oslo were also markedly clearer on Thursday, after weeks of hot and hazy weather.
The rain wasn’t enough to help farmers who’ve given up on their crops this year, most of which is raised for livestock feed. Grain and grass fields remained dry and with stunted growth from Fredrikstad in the south to Nittedal farther north.
“Our plants should have been at least 30 centimeters higher than they are,” Henrik Valle, who has a farm at Onsøy, told newspaper Dagsavisen on Thursday. “The rain came much too late.” State meteorologists also predicted more warm and sunny weather through the weekend.
NewsinEnglish.no staff
