- Italy will face another drought after last summer’s disaster.
- Italy’s rivers and lakes are severely depleted of water.
- An anticyclone has dominated the weather in Western Europe.
Weeks of dry winter weather have increased fears that Italy will face another drought after last summer’s disaster, with the Alps receiving less than half of their average snowfall, according to scientists and environmental groups.
The warning comes as Venice, where flooding is ordinarily a major problem, experiences extremely low tides that make it hard for gondolas, water taxis, and ambulances to navigate parts of its iconic canals.
A mixture of reasons is being blamed for the troubles in Venice, including a lack of rain, a high-pressure system, a full moon, and sea currents.
The Legambiente environmental group stated on Monday that Italy’s rivers and lakes are severely depleted of water, with the north of the nation receiving special attention.
The Po, Italy’s longest river that flows from the Alps in the northwest to the Adriatic, has 61% less water than usual this time of year, according to a statement.
Last July, Italy announced a state of emergency for the areas surrounding the Po, which accounts for nearly one-third of the country’s agricultural output and was experiencing its worst drought in 70 years.
Water deficit situation
“We are in a water deficit situation that has been building up since the winter of 2020-2021,” climate expert Massimiliano Pasqui from the Italian scientific research institute CNR was quoted as saying by the daily Corriere della Sera.
“We need to recover 500 millimeters in the north-western regions: we need 50 days of rain,” he added.
Water levels on Lake Garda in northern Italy have reached record lows, allowing access to the lake’s small island of San Biagio through an exposed footpath.
For the past 15 days, an anticyclone has dominated the weather in Western Europe, delivering moderate temperatures more typical of late April.
The latest weather projections, however, indicate that much-needed precipitation and snow will arrive in the Alps in the coming days.
[embedpost slug=”/berlusconi-of-italy-says-he-will-not-seek-a-meeting-with-zelenskyy/”]
