More than a quarter of Italy’s land, or an estimated 28%, is at risk of desertification resulting from degraded soil due to drought and high temperatures, threatening the country’s agricultural production, according to the Union of Agricultural Producers.
Reports indicated that Italy’s main lifeline, the Po River in the province of Pavia, had water levels 3.3 meters below normal, worse than the values recorded in mid-August.
The Union of Agricultural Producers stressed that “due to the lack of water, more than 30% of the national agricultural production and half of animal husbandry are at risk.”
According to “coldiretti”, the percentage of water in the two largest lakes in Italy, “Magiore” and “Como”, reached about 19.5% and 17.6%, respectively, while there is an increasing need for water in the valleys to irrigate crops against the background of high temperatures, which may contribute The temperature in the Apennines rose to more than +40 degrees.
The union noted that “the drought situation has become a national emergency, threatening more serious consequences than similar conditions that prevailed in 2003.”
“Due to climate change, more than a quarter of the country’s land (28 percent) is at risk of desertification, with damage already exceeding two billion euros,” the report says.
It is reported that, in 2022, precipitation was halved in Italy, and in some areas there was no rain for about three months.
Previous reports said that a number of Italian regions are ready to declare a natural disaster due to the persistent drought that hit the main northern and central parts of the country against the backdrop of the intense summer heat.