Drought is still tightening its grip.
While waiting for the government to proclaim a state of emergency, the president of the Lombardy Region, Attilio Fontana, explains that he is working to "obtain those releases aimed at saving the crop in agriculture", and "we are continuing to monitor the situation".
"The head of civil protection, Fabrizio Curcio, said that we must monitor the conditions: if certain parameters are exceeded, we automatically enter an emergency - explained Fontana - We do nothing but send our data so that it is established if we return. or not in an emergency ".
The governor added: "We are maintaining a continuous and constant relationship with those who manage the hydroelectric basins which, with the confirmed release of 4 million cubic meters in Lake Como and 1 million cubic meters in Lake Iseo, allow us to give a little breathing room for agriculture ".
Drought, Fontana: 'Targeted releases are needed to save crops'
The appeal of the mayor of Cremona
At the center of one of the worst climatic crises from the seventies to today, with the Po at historic lows and increasingly high criticalities in the supply of water for agriculture, Cremona and its territory have now weeks struggling with the drought emergency.
Just this morning, the mayor
Gianluca Galimberti
, who with the prefect Corrado Conforto Galli and the other first citizens is following "with concern" the evolution of the situation, has launched a double appeal.
To the institutions: "We ask the Region and the Government to help the territory and our farmers in this difficult moment, which could compromise an entire supply chain with very serious consequences".
And to citizens, inviting to a conscious use of water despite the fact that for now, compared to domestic use, there are no particular criticalities.
"You need to be careful about consumption at all times. In these weeks even more. My invitation to everyone is to make a rational use of drinking water, avoiding unnecessary waste and limiting its use for food and personal hygiene purposes" , the mayor's message.
In the meantime, with the manager of the Padania Acque water network, further water saving actions are being evaluated in the city, such as the interruption of the
A cultivated field in Casalbuttano (Cremona)
In the meantime, berths in some ports of Lake Maggiore
were temporarily suspended this morning
.
Navigazione Lago Maggiore decided it, because
the low water level could cause the
boats to run aground.
The stop concerns in particular the airports of
Ranco, Ispra and Porto Valtravaglia
, in the province of Varese.
For the ferry connections between the banks of Intra (Vco) and Laveno (Varese), the full load capacity of the vehicles allowed on board was also reduced to a maximum of 200 quintals.
"We constantly monitor the level of the lake, the suspension of some stopovers is a precautionary choice as our boats could find themselves in a situation of danger due to shoals or outcropping rocks - explains the operating director Riccardo Russo in a note -. Safety protection on board our passengers is a necessary condition to guarantee a safe and efficient service, we hope as soon as possible to be able to re-establish the service at the airports currently suspended ".
Zaia: the situation in Veneto is dramatic
"We don't have a magic wand, it has
n't rained significantly for 120 days now
. We have the combination of the fact that the lack of rain is added to the lack of snow and therefore winter deposits that would be useful to us: we certainly need the adoption of rules, which are also dictated by common sense, for the non-waste of water resources and I have already dealt with this as a region ".
The President of Veneto Luca Zaia tells Rai Radio Uno about the situation of water shortage in the region.
The Governor recalls that Veneto was the first region to request a state of emergency on 21 April.
"It would help us from a formal point of view - he underlines - to lend a hand to those who are suffering damage. I am thinking of the world of agriculture, which is in no small difficulty".
For Zaia "the situation is dramatic: I am not one of those - he points out - who say that it has never been as hot as this year, because history tells us that 2003 was a similar year and also in 2017 if I'm not wrong ".
The crux of the matter, he argues, "is that we are in trouble now."
When asked whether rationing is already underway in Veneto, Zaia replies: "no rationing, but it is true that there is a widespread culture of non-waste".
Coldiretti, 20% of clams suffocate in the Po Delta without water
Drought with the lack of water to ensure water exchange and the increase in salinity along the coast
suffocates clams
and mussels from the Po delta with the loss of 20% of farms.
This is what emerges from Coldiretti's monitoring of the effects "of the dramatic heat wave and drought that is hitting Italy, causing losses to national food production that have reached three billion euros".
Coldiretti Impresapesca - he explains - that the rise in temperatures without the possibility of water changes is causing the wildfire expansion of the so-called white water, delta areas where the decomposition of algae and organic substances steals the oxygen necessary for the life of clams and mussels by killing them.
The agricultural organization notes that with the change in the distribution in the rain from a geographical and temporal point of view and the lack of optimal management of the lagoons,
an entire sector is being put at risk, which every year brings over 93 million kilos of molluscs including mussels and clams to the tables of Italians.
Coldiretti also adds that the climatic situation in a year like 2022, marked up to now by practically halved rainfall, thus risks increasing imports from abroad which already represent 1/3 of consumption and which jumped by + 50% in the first three months of the year.
Coldiretti Impresapesca underlines that "the work of hundreds of families of fishermen and fish farmers is at risk".
"The situation is such - points out the
ANSA agency
Drought, Cirio: 'For the state of emergency we start from Piedmont' - Chronicle
Governor: We asked 7 days ago, with Lombardia we have numbers'.
Regions working on the criteria.
A coordination between ministries and civil protection is underway.
Increasingly hot temperatures even in the sea, 4 degrees higher in the Mediterranean (ANSA)