Italy’s longest river is disappearing. With a length of 650 km, the Po River is experiencing the worst drought in 70 years and in some places has changed from being a great tributary of shimmering water in the Mediterranean summer to a wide stretch of walking sand. . The lack of water is so worrying that Italy decided on Monday (4) to declare a state of emergency in five regions.
Italy’s longest river is disappearing. With a length of 650 km, the Po River is experiencing the worst drought in 70 years and in some places has changed from being a great tributary of shimmering water in the Mediterranean summer to a wide stretch of walking sand. . The lack of water is so worrying that Italy decided on Monday (4) to declare a state of emergency in five regions.
According to Italy’s largest farmers’ association, drought is putting 30% of the country’s agricultural production at risk and hitting pig farms in the Po plain, where the internationally renowned Parma ham is produced.
At the ministerial meeting, the request for a state of emergency due to drought was accepted in five regions: Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Piedmont, Friuli Venezia Giulia and Veneto. The measure makes it easier to help water-strapped farmers.
Little snow, lack of rain and high temperatures
The drought of the Po River is the culmination of various meteorological changes in the country as a result of the climate crisis affecting the world.
The Po originates in the Alps, is fed by water from the snow, and empties into the Adriatic Sea, passing through northern Italy through the regions of Piedmont, Lombardy and Veneto. On its route, it feeds several agricultural fields and hydroelectric power stations installed in the Po valley.
However, Meuccio Berselli, secretary general of the Po River Regional Administration, explains that this year Italy has recorded 70% less snow in its mountains than expected. The following months were also marked by less precipitation, a decrease of about 50% compared to the average of the last three decades.
And as a third factor, the heatwave reached Italy in the spring with temperatures three to four degrees above average for the period. “The situation is dramatic,” says Berselli.
Images captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite and released by the ESA (European Space Agency) show how riverbanks narrowed between June 2020 and June 2022.
The Po Valley is the country’s most important agricultural area, with the production of wheat, rice, and tomatoes, as well as raising pigs for Parma ham.
water rationing
Water rationing measures have been announced in more than 200 cities to avert the water crisis.
In Verona, with a population of 250,000, the use of drinking water for “watering gardens, gardens and sports grounds, washing cars and filling swimming pools” is prohibited until the end of August, according to a municipal decree. Can the fine be reached? 500 (R$2,800).
In the city of Milan, the city’s fountains have been emptied and will run out of water by the end of September as a way to reduce water waste. The lawn and gardens of the city will not be irrigated during this period.
Electricity production fell
The lack of water in the Po River has also affected electricity production in the region’s hydroelectric power stations.
According to a spokesperson for Utilitalia, a water services federation, “Hydroelectric generation between January and May 2022 fell by about 40% compared to the same period in 2021.”
Some facilities are not operating at full capacity. According to Enel, one of the dams southeast of Milan had to be closed indefinitely due to low water levels in the River Po.
source: Noticias
[author_name]
