Hungary's 'water guardian' farmers fight back against desertification

KISKUNMAJSA, Hungary (AP) — Oszkár Nagyapáti climbed to the bottom of a sandy pit on his land on the Great Hungarian Plain and dug into the soil with his hand, looking for a sign of groundwater that in recent years has been in accelerating retreat.

“It’s much worse, and it’s getting worse year after year,” he said as cloudy liquid slowly seeped into the hole. ”Where did so much water go? It’s unbelievable.”

Nagyapáti has watched with distress as the region in southern Hungary, once an important site for agriculture, has become increasingly parched and dry. Where a variety of crops and grasses once filled the fields, today there are wide cracks in the soil and growing sand dunes more reminiscent of the Sahara Desert than Central Europe.

The region, known as the Homokhátság, has been described by some studies as semiarid — a distinction more common in parts of Africa, the American Southwest or Australian Outback — and is characterized by very little rain, dried-out wells and a water table plunging ever deeper underground.

In a 2017 paper in European Countryside, a scientific journal, researchers cited “the combined effect of climatic changes, improper land use and inappropriate environmental management” as causes for the Homokhátság's aridification, a phenomenon the paper called unique in this part of the continent.

Fields that in previous centuries would be regularly flooded by the Danube and Tisza Rivers have, through a combination of climate change-related droughts and poor water retention practices, become nearly unsuitable for crops and wildlife.

Now a group of farmers and other volunteers, led by Nagyapáti, are trying to save the region and their lands from total desiccation using a resource for which Hungary is famous: thermal water.

“I was thinking about what could be done, how could we bring the water back or somehow create water in the landscape," Nagyapáti told The Associated Press. "There was a point when I felt that enough is enough. We really have to put an end to this. And that's where we started our project to flood some areas to keep the water in the plain.”

Along with the group of volunteer “water guardians,” Nagyapáti began negotiating with authorities and a local thermal spa last year, hoping to redirect the spa's overflow water — which would usually pour unused into a canal — onto their lands. The thermal water is drawn from very deep underground.

According to the water guardians' plan, the water, cooled and purified, would be used to flood a 2½-hectare (6-acre) low-lying field — a way of mimicking the natural cycle of flooding that channelizing the rivers had ended.

“When the flooding is complete and the water recedes, there will be 2½ hectares of water surface in this area," Nagyapáti said. "This will be quite a shocking sight in our dry region.”

A 2024 study by Hungary’s Eötvös Loránd University showed that unusually dry layers of surface-level air in the region had prevented any arriving storm fronts from producing precipitation. Instead, the fronts would pass through without rain, and result in high winds that dried out the topsoil even further.

The water guardians hoped that by artificially flooding certain areas, they wouldn't only raise the groundwater level but also create a microclimate through surface evaporation that could increase humidity, reduce temperatures and dust and have a positive impact on nearby vegetation.

Tamás Tóth, a meteorologist in Hungary, said that because of the potential impact such wetlands can have on the surrounding climate, water retention “is simply the key issue in the coming years and for generations to come, because climate change does not seem to stop.”

"The atmosphere continues to warm up, and with it the distribution of precipitation, both seasonal and annual, has become very hectic, and is expected to become even more hectic in the future,” he said.

Following another hot, dry summer this year, the water guardians blocked a series of sluices along a canal, and the repurposed water from the spa began slowly gathering in the low-lying field.

After a couple of months, the field had nearly been filled. Standing beside the area in early December, Nagyapáti said that the shallow marsh that had formed "may seem very small to look at it, but it brings us immense happiness here in the desert.”

He said the added water will have a “huge impact” within a roughly 4-kilometer (2½-mile) radius, "not only on the vegetation, but also on the water balance of the soil. We hope that the groundwater level will also rise.”

Persistent droughts in the Great Hungarian Plain have threatened desertification, a process where vegetation recedes because of high heat and low rainfall. Weather-damaged crops have dealt significant blows to the country’s overall gross domestic product, prompting Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to announce this year the creation of a “drought task force” to deal with the problem.

After the water guardians' first attempt to mitigate the growing problem in their area, they said they experienced noticeable improvements in the groundwater level, as well as an increase of flora and fauna near the flood site.

The group, which has grown to more than 30 volunteers, would like to expand the project to include another flooded field, and hopes their efforts could inspire similar action by others to conserve the most precious resource.

“This initiative can serve as an example for everyone, we need more and more efforts like this," Nagyapáti said. "We retained water from the spa, but retaining any kind of water, whether in a village or a town, is a tremendous opportunity for water replenishment.”

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Members of the water guardians group talk next to an artificial lake in Kiskunmajsa, Hungary, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

A water gauge is visible in an artificial lake in Kiskunmajsa, Hungary, Tuesday, July 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

Oszkár Nagyapáti, farmer and member of the volunteer water guardians group, poses for a photo with an artificial lake in Kiskunmajsa, Hungary, Tuesday, July 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

Trees are reflected in the water of an artificial lake in Kiskunmajsa, Hungary, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

Water floods an area and an artificial lake in Kiskunmajsa, Hungary, Tuesday, July 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

A stork stands behind a sprinkler on a dried-out field in Kiskunmajsa, Hungary, Tuesday, July 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

Szilárd Zerinváry member of the volunteer water guardians group walks his horse in his parched backyard in Kiskunmajsa, Hungary, Monday, July 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

Dry trees stand in Kiskunmajsa, Hungary, Wednesday, July 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

Kata Hunyadi, a farmer, feeds her sheep with a tree branch in Kiskunmajsa, Hungary, Tuesday, July 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

An abandoned plow sits on parched land in Kiskunmajsa, Hungary, Monday, July 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

Oszkár Nagyapáti, farmer and member of the volunteer water guardians group, fills up a wildlife water trough in Kiskunmajsa, Hungary, Tuesday, July 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

Oszkár Nagyapáti, farmer and member of the volunteer water guardians group, holds water in his hands in Kiskunmajsa, Hungary, Tuesday, July 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

Hills of sandy terrain are visible in the Kiskunsag region of Hungary, Wednesday, July 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

Oszkár Nagyapáti, farmer and member of the volunteer water guardians, stands in a hole in Kiskunmajsa, Hungary, Tuesday, July 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

The Patriots became the fourth team to clinch a division title, the Browns kept the Ravens alive and the 49ers moved closer toward a No. 1 seed.

There’s plenty left to be settled before the NFL’s playoff schedule is set.

Twelve of the 14 playoff berths have been secured and four teams are battling for the final two spots. Both No. 1 seeds are up for grabs and there could be two winner-take-all games in Week 18.

New England (13-3) routed the Jets 42-10 on Sunday and later clinched the AFC East title when the Bills lost to the Eagles 13-12. The Patriots completed a worst-to-first turnaround under first-year coach Mike Vrabel. The NFC North champion Bears also went worst to first this season.

Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers missed an opportunity to lock up the AFC North, losing 13-6 at Cleveland. Now, the division championship comes down to the final game when Baltimore (8-8) visits Pittsburgh (9-7). The winner advances; the loser is eliminated.

That’s likely the scenario when Carolina (8-8) plays at Tampa Bay (7-9) next Saturday. If the Falcons lose or tie the Rams on Monday night, the Panthers-Buccaneers matchup will be winner-take-all. If Atlanta (6-9) wins its final two games, the Panthers are in the playoffs regardless of what happens against Tampa Bay because they hold the three-team tiebreaker.

San Francisco’s 42-38 victory over Chicago set up a showdown against Seattle next Saturday night for the NFC West title and the No. 1 seed.

The Broncos (13-3), Patriots, Jaguars (12-4), Texans (11-5), Chargers (11-5) and Bills (11-5) have secured playoff spots in the AFC.

The Seahawks (13-3), Bears (11-5), Eagles (11-5), 49ers (12-4), Rams (11-4) and Packers (9-6-1) are heading to the NFC playoffs.

Here’s the updated playoff picture:

New England won its first division title since Tom Brady led the franchise to 11 straight from 2009-19. The Patriots would secure the AFC’s No. 1 seed with a win over Miami and a loss or tie by Denver against the Chargers or a tie against the Dolphins and a loss by the Broncos.

Buffalo’s run of five consecutive division crowns ended, but the Bills will be the No. 5, 6 or 7 seed.

The Steelers beat the Ravens 27-22 at Baltimore on Dec. 7. They have to beat them again or tie them next Sunday night without wide receiver DK Metcalf and probably without star edge rusher T.J. Watt.

Derrick Henry and backup quarterback Tyler Huntley led the Ravens to a win at Green Bay on Saturday night that kept Baltimore in the race and made Pittsburgh's loss to Cleveland matter. Lamar Jackson’s status is unknown for the do-or-die game against the Steelers due to a back injury.

Jacksonville wins the division with a win or tie against the Titans or a loss coupled with Houston losing or tying the Colts.

The Texans would win the division with a victory over the Colts and a loss by the Jaguars.

The Broncos have already won the division, ending Kansas City’s nine-year run. Denver can secure the AFC’s No. 1 seed with a win against the Chargers or a loss by New England to Miami.

Los Angeles will be the No. 5, 6 or 7 seed.

The defending Super Bowl champion Eagles became the first team to win this division in consecutive seasons in two decades. They’ll be the NFC’s No. 2 or 3 seed.

The Bears clinched their first division championship since 2018. They will be the No. 2 or 3 seed.

The Packers are locked into the No. 7 seed.

The Panthers beat the Buccaneers 23-20 at home last week. They missed a chance to clinch the division by losing 27-20 to Seattle. Tampa Bay’s 20-17 loss to Miami means the Bucs need the Falcons to lose to the Rams or Saints in order to have a shot at winning their fifth straight division crown. Atlanta is already eliminated, but the Falcons give the Panthers a tiebreaker edge over the Buccaneers if the three teams finish 8-9. The Buccaneers hold a two-team tiebreaker advantage over Carolina.

The 49ers beat the Seahawks 17-13 in Week 1. If they beat them again, San Francisco will earn a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Niners could become the third team to play for a Super Bowl in their home stadium.

Seattle secures the division title and the No. 1 seed with a win or tie against the 49ers.

The Rams will be the No. 5 or 6 seed.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

New England Patriots safety Jaylinn Hawkins (21) celebrates an interception against the New York Jets during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin)

Seattle Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet celebrates after scoring against the Carolina Panthers during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)

San Francisco 49ers' Brock Purdy (13) dances in the end zone after scoring a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) runs against Chicago Bears safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, bottom, during the second half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Eakin Howard)