the Po is already dry, 40% of the water is missing – Corriere.it

In Italy there is already an air of early spring, with stable weather and temperatures well above the average. But the vast and robust area of ​​high pressure that has been present over western Europe for days, and which is now expanding further in our peninsula, also means the accumulation of pollutants and the absence of rainfall. The three winter months are essentially confirming the arid trend of 40 and more per cent of water missing. So, after the terrible images of last summer, with a bit almost completely dried up, now the drought is back to record levels and is worrying (as Gian Antonio Stella recounts in his new report on Planet 2030) Especially in the North-West, where the great river is already dry. According to data disclosed by Coldiretti, the Po is located at -3.2 meters with respect to the hydrometric zero at the Ponte della Becca, in the province of Pavia. All the other watercourses in Northern Italy and the great lakes are also suffering: the filling percentage of Lake Como is just 20 percent.

Coldiretti: Worst situation in 2022

In fact, the new hot and dry phase is hitting an area already very tried by an exceptionally dry 2022: for Italy it was the second driest year since the beginning of the records, when 42 per cent was missing in the North-West of rainfall. Farmers in the Po valley are afraid: we are on the eve of preparing the fields for sowing and if the weather forecast is confirmed, there will be a shortage of water for the plants. Coldiretti sounds the alarm: the situation is worse than last year, when there was a loss of at least 6 billion euros in crops due to drought. From durum wheat for pasta to tomato sauce, from great cheeses (such as Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano) to the most prestigious cured meats (Parma ham and Culatello di Zibello) up to fruit and vegetables, production in the Po Valley represents the tip diamond of the food industry in Italy and in the world and with the dry Po, the association points out, a third of the production of Made in Italy at the table is at risk.

79% of the water accumulated in the snow is missing

The concern that 2023 could be last year’s draft is also high for Confagricoltura. The first data we have suggest that 2023 from many points of view promises to be as serious as 2022. The winter so far has in fact been characterized by a severe drought, explained the president Massimiliano Giansanti interviewed by TGcom24. In 2022, the year of the most severe drought in the last 70 years, with rainfall decreasing by 46% compared to the average of the last thirty years, hydroelectric production had almost halved. And 2023 is already looking worse: in fact, about 70% of the water accumulated in the snow is already missing.

Coldiretti: With climate change, an invasion plan is needed

Faced with climate change, it is necessary to implement a flood plan to combat drought and increase the collection of rainwater, which is currently standing at just 11%, says the president of Coldiretti, Ettore Prandini, while specifying that together with Anbi and public and private entities we have ready a series of interventions that can be started immediately which guarantee water for civil uses, for agricultural production and to generate clean energy. A necessary intervention – continues Prandini – also to achieve the objective of food sovereignty with the increase of Made in Italy production, the reduction of dependence on foreign countries and the supply of high quality national food products at the right price. In fact, irrigation can make the difference – concludes Prandini – also allowing you to triple the yields in the field.