Italy has been experiencing a severe drought for months – with a major impact on tourism. If you had planned a cruise, you may be disappointed.
Munich – While we have been experiencing a spring with rather fresh temperatures and rain in this country so far, there has been great heat in many parts of Europe for weeks. In some cases, this has drastic effects on the countries. Italy in particular has been hit hard by the heat. The tourist magnet Lake Garda is experiencing the worst drought in 70 years – the situation on Lake Garda is so extreme that even the Italian government is getting involved. Meanwhile, there is no relief in sight, quite the opposite.
Italy's rivers are also struggling with drought and are unlikely to be able to attract tourists, at least if they want to get around on the water. Larger cruise ships, which often also fly to destinations such as Rome, Florence or Venice on their Mediterranean routes, are probably not affected by restrictions at the moment.
| Land | Italy |
| Problem | Drought - hardly any water in the rivers |
Drought in Italy: No tourists on Italy's rivers – cruises are cancelled
Travel to Italy is very popular, but for the locals, tourists are often both a curse and a blessing. The rush of tourists is so great that in some places even red zones have been created to keep mass tourism at bay. The situation is different on ships that want to take a cruise on the Po, Italy's largest river – they would like to welcome tourists here, but the water level no longer allows them to sail.
It is likely that there will soon be too little water in the Italian rivers to sail on them. (Symbolic image) © Cecilia Fabiano/Imago
"I rode on the Po for the first time when I was 13 years old and I learned to swim in this river when I was 5 years old. I remember a river full of life, boats, fishing, now there's nothing left," captain Giuliano Landini told euronews. In a few days, he will probably have to cancel all cruises, because the level of the Po is lower than it has been for 30 years. The fact that the water level is already so low is mainly due to the lack of snowmelt, so that the river was hardly fed by meltwater this year.
Effects of the drought in Italy extend far beyond cruise tourism
But the effects of the drought go far beyond the popular cruises on the Po, the entire region suffers from the consequences of the low water level. Far away from tourism, fishermen and agricultural land are also dependent on the water. The river has been carrying less water since last summer and the situation of the Po remains critical.
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The drought in Italy is alarming and taking on dramatic proportions – and summer is yet to come. Similar images were caused last year by the Loire in France, where people are already preparing for a severe drought summer, as there has also been hardly any rain and snowmelt in recent months. (Kiba)