Drought: in Italy, the Po River is at its lowest for the month of April

The increasingly early droughts leave no respite for the rivers, which are no longer able to fill up from one year to the next. The largest river in Italy is at a hydrometric level below that of the summer.

A recurring phenomenon that is no less alarming. Italy is not outdone by the episodes of drought that are currently affecting the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco. The "Botte" is suffering from exceptionally early heat and the situation is likely to worsen. According to the Cima Foundation, the International Environmental Monitoring Centre in Italy, this winter's mild temperatures and low precipitation have resulted in a 64% snow deficit. As a result, rivers are severely dried up. This is particularly true of the Po River, normally the largest water reservoir on the peninsula. "In April, we are in the same critical conditions recorded at the end of June 2022," assures the Cima Foundation.

Last year, Italy was already experiencing its worst drought in seventy years. In the middle of July, photographs of the Po River showed a river that was so dry that it revealed ancient wrecks and remnants of the Second World War. This year, the drought is two months ahead of schedule, suggesting the worst for the summer season. The entire region along the river is at risk of suffering the consequences. The Po river basin covers a quarter of the national territory. Fishermen, boats, farmland and tourists depend on water that is almost non-existent, as shown in the images of Meteo France, which states in a tweet of "hydrometric levels below those of the summer".

The authority of the basin of the Po River district has confirmed "the prolonged state of drought in the entire basin". The Italian lakes that depend on the Po are also at extremely low levels of filling: 31% for Lake Garda, which "is now approaching the lowest levels since 1953. Same thing for the famous Lake Como, filled to only 23.5%.

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