Rome, Europe Brief News – Italy is facing another year of severe drought after a winter of little rain and snowfall, raising the alarm on the implications for farming, hydropower and access to drinking water.
Vast areas of the Po – the country’s longest river that nourishes several northern and central regions – are already parched, while the water level on Lake Garda is the lowest during winter in 35 years.
Unusually lower water levels in Venice have dried up the lagoon city’s canals, leaving gondolas stranded.
Italy’s National Research Council (CNR) said rainfall in the north was down 40% in 2022 and the absence of precipitation since the beginning of 2023 had been significant.
In particular, the Po, which stretches from the Alps in the north-west and flows through the Po delta before reaching the Adriatic, faces a repeat of last year’s drought – the worst to affect the waterway in seven decades – unless rain arrives in the spring. In the Pavia area of the Po valley the water level is 3 metres below the zero gauge, turning the riverbanks into beaches – a phenomenon usually seen in summer.
The Po also flows through Emilia-Romagna and Veneto, one of the most important agricultural zones in Europe. Along with 2022, during which there was a protracted heatwave, the valley experienced droughts in 2007, 2012 and 2017, and scientists say their growing prevalence is a further indication of the climate crisis.
Coldiretti, Italy ’s biggest farmers’ association, said the 2022 drought caused €6bn (£5.4bn) worth of damage to agricultural produce. It warned that a third of production was at risk this year unless another long and severe drought was averted.
