A watermelon appeared without human intervention in the drying bed of Lake Balaton near Balatonboglár and was cut into 15 slices for tasting during a steamboat meeting held between October 3 and 4. The fruit likely grew from seeds dropped by birds as water levels receded near the Balatoni Csavargőzös Műemlékhajó and the local café pier.
Lake levels near historic lows
The average water level of Lake Balaton was 29 centimeters, with readings near lakeshore gauges around 30 centimeters. This represents a drop of 5 centimeters over the past two weeks. The lake’s water level is only 6 centimeters above the lowest recorded in October 2003. It is down 61 centimeters compared with the 90-centimeter maximum recorded this spring.
The retreat is especially pronounced on the shallow southern shore, where people can walk tens of meters into areas once covered by water. Exposed lakebed revealed remains of piers, fishing stakes, and water-sport equipment that were previously submerged.
Evaporation and reduced inflows cause decline
Evaporation losses were 12 percent above the long-term average last year, while some catchment areas, including streams in the Bakony region, have dried up this year. According to Horváth Angéla, head of the Közép-dunántúli Vízügyi Igazgatóság, climate change reduces inflows from catchment areas and increases evaporation from the lake.
The volume of water lost to evaporation since last year would require approximately 400 millimeters of rain across the entire surface of Lake Balaton to restore the previous levels. Some watermelon plants still await autumn harvest on the exposed lakebed.
Source: Közép-dunántúli Vízügyi Igazgatóság
