International disputes: none
Climate: temperate with cold, cloudy, moderately severe winters with frequent precipitation; mild summers with frequent showers and thundershowers
Terrain: mostly flat plain; mountains along southern border
Natural resources: coal, sulfur, copper, natural gas, silver, lead, salt
Land use: arable land: 46% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 13% forest and woodland: 28% other: 12%
Irrigated land: 1,000 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues: forest damage due to air pollution and resulting acid
rain; improper means for disposal of large amounts of hazardous and
industrial waste; severe water pollution from industrial and municipal
sources; severe air pollution results from emissions of sulfur dioxide
from coal-fired power plants, which also drifts into Germany and the
Netherlands
natural hazards: NA
international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Antarctic Treaty,
Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Air
Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94,
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Biodiversity, Law of the Sea
Note: historically, an area of conflict because of flat terrain and
the lack of natural barriers on the North European Plain
@Poland:People
Population: 38,792,442 (July 1995 est.)