The regions of Emilie-Romagne, Frioul-Vénétie Julienne, Lombardie, Veneto and Piedmont are affected until December 31. Rome has thus released a fund of 36.5 million euros, while the Pô plain is struck by drought.
Le Monde with AFP
After the collapse, Sunday, of a glacier in the Italian Alps, “undoubtedly” linked to global warming, according to the government, Italy decreed, Monday, July 4, the state of emergency in Five northern regions. Rome has also announced to release a fund of 36.5 million euros to cope with the drought that has been hitting the Pô plain for several weeks.
The Council of Ministers approved the establishment of the state of emergency in Emilie-Romagne, Frioul-Vénétie Julienne, Lombardie, Veneto and in Piedmont until December 31, the government announced in a statement.
The Italian peninsula is faced with an unusually early heat wave with an absence of precipitation, especially in the Pô agricultural plain, struck by its worst drought for seventy years.
30 %of national agricultural production in danger
tractors pump the water from the Pô to a channel while the longest river in Italy dries up because of a wave of early warmth, at Isola Pescaroli, June 22, 2022. Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters The state of emergency aims to grant “extraordinary means and powers” to ensure the setting Work of urgent interventions necessary to guarantee public security, the repair of damage suffered by public and private goods as well as the normal living conditions of the population.
According to the largest agricultural union in the country, Coldiretti, the drought threatens more than 30 % of national agricultural production and half of the farms in the Pô plain, where PARME ham produces in particular.
The major and guard lakes display water levels lower than normal for this period of the year, while, further south, the level of the Tiber which crosses Rome has also dropped. The Pô represents the largest water tank in the peninsula, a large part of which is used by farmers.
restrictions on drinking water
In recent days, several municipalities have announced restriction measures: Verona, a city of a quarter of a million inhabitants, has thus rationed the use of drinking water, while Milan decided to close Its decorative fountains.
Another consequence of drought: the production of hydroelectric energy has dropped sharply while hydroelectric installations, mostly located in the mountain ranges of northern Italy, produce almost 20 % of the energy in this Country.
The state of emergency aims to grant “extraordinary means and powers” to ensure the setting Work of urgent interventions necessary to guarantee public security, the repair of damage suffered by public and private goods as well as the normal living conditions of the population.
According to the largest agricultural union in the country, Coldiretti, the drought threatens more than 30 % of national agricultural production and half of the farms in the Pô plain, where PARME ham produces in particular.
The major and guard lakes display water levels lower than normal for this period of the year, while, further south, the level of the Tiber which crosses Rome has also dropped. The Pô represents the largest water tank in the peninsula, a large part of which is used by farmers.
restrictions on drinking water
In recent days, several municipalities have announced restriction measures: Verona, a city of a quarter of a million inhabitants, has thus rationed the use of drinking water, while Milan decided to close Its decorative fountains.
Another consequence of drought: the production of hydroelectric energy has dropped sharply while hydroelectric installations, mostly located in the mountain ranges of northern Italy, produce almost 20 % of the energy in this Country.