Andreas Solaro | AFP | Getty Images
The Italian government declared a state of emergency on Monday in five regions due to drought caused by a lack of rain and rising temperatures.
To help the worst-hit regions, Italy is sending $37.5 million in relief funds that are being distributed to the regions of Emilia-Romagna, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Lombardy, Piedmont and Veneto, according to a statement from the Italian government.
“For the Po basin, this is the most serious water crisis of the last 70 years, according to an analysis by the Po River Basin Authority,” Prime Minister Mario Draghi said on Thursday, in a translation of the statement.
The Tiber River, which runs through central Italy and Rome and can be seen flowing under the famous Vittorio Emanuele II Bridge in the image above, is also running at very low levels.
Damaged soybean plants affected by salty seawater flowing into the drought-stricken Pa River are pictured in Porto Tolle, Italy, June 23, 2022. Photo taken on 23, 2022.
Guglielmo Mangiapane | Reuters
The Paos River runs east through the northern part of the country from the Pian del Re of Monte Viso to the Adriatic Sea near Venice, according to data from the European Commission. It is the longest river in Italy and 17 million people live in its basin, or a third of the total population.
A barge sunk during World War II lies on the dry bed of the Po River as parts of Italy’s longest river and largest freshwater reservoir have dried up due to the worst drought in 70 years, in Gualtieri, Italy, June 22 2022.
Guglielmo Mangiapane | Reuters
The crisis stems from three years of drought and warmer temperatures, Draghi said.
“There are two categories of causes for this water crisis: One is the rainfall deficit of the last three years. There has been a low level of rainfall, of course not only this year but also in previous years,” Draghi said on Thursday. “The general rise in temperature is also contributing; there is no doubt that climate change is having an impact.”
One of the pillars of the bridge crossing the Po River in the municipality of Boretto, in the province of Reggio Emilia, Italy on June 27, 2022.
Andrea Carrubba | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Also, Italy is losing water from the Po River due to what Draghi called “structural causes,” meaning “poor maintenance of the basins, poor maintenance of the network.”
“That’s why, in Italy, there is an unusually high level of leakage, water loss: we’re talking about 30 percent or more,” Draghi said. “To give you an idea, the total in Israel is 3% and in other European countries 5-6-8%. An emergency plan is undoubtedly needed to deal with this emergency now.”
The Fountain of the Months (Fontana dei Mesi) is pictured closed to avoid wasting water, in Valentino Park, Turin, Italy, June 19, 2022.
Massimo Pinca | Reuters
The Po River and the surrounding watersheds are important areas for agriculture and livestock. More than half of the national cattle stock, 3.1 million animals, and 65% of the national pig stock, or 6 million animals, live in the region, according to European Commission figures.
Drought has devastated Italy’s rice crops, wiping out 30 percent of the total harvest, according to a statement on Sunday from Coldiretti, a farming organization in the European Union.
The disaster for the rice crop comes at a particularly painful time for the industry, because it had already reduced seed planting by 10,000 hectares due to a “record increase in production costs” caused by the war in Ukraine, Coldiretti said.
A man walks along the dry bed of the Sangone River, a tributary of the Pa River, which is experiencing its worst drought in 70 years, in Beinasco, Turin, Italy, June 19, 2022.
Massimo Pinca | Reuters
