Historic drought in Italy: Next region applies for state of emergency

Created: 07/08/2022 13:56

By: Patrick Huljina

On Monday, Italy declared a state of emergency in five regions due to the persistent heat and drought - another region has now applied for this.

Genoa - Italy has been suffering from an unusually early heat wave since May.

The high temperatures and the lack of rain ensure a historic drought.

The north of the popular holiday destination is particularly affected.

The large lakes and bodies of water - for example Lake Garda - carry less water.

The otherwise fertile Po Valley is suffering from its worst drought in 70 years.

The longest river in Italy is extremely affected by the drought.

Agriculture in the region is very concerned about harvest and production.

Cities like Pisa and Verona have massively restricted water use.

Venice and Milan have turned off part of their fountains.

Historic drought in Italy: State of emergency in five regions

Already on Monday (July 4th) the government of Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi declared a drought emergency for five regions due to the extreme weather:

• Piedmont

• Lombardy

• Veneto

• Emilia Romagna

• Friuli Venezia Giulia

By decreing the state of emergency, the Italian government can more easily free up funds and aid to combat the effects of the drought in the affected areas.

Rome made 36.5 million euros available to the regions for this purpose.

Drought in Italy: The river bed of the Po has dried up in places.

© Luca Bruno/dpa

Heat and drought in Italy: the next region applies for a state of emergency

Because of the persistent drought, the coastal region of Liguria has now also applied for a state of emergency.

The request includes ten million euros in aid for urgent interventions, explained the conservative regional president Giovanni Toti.

According to him, the northern Italian region with the capital Genoa wants to use the money to modernize the pipeline system.

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In addition, wells are to be renovated and small dams built with the aid.

"We expect the government to accept our application as soon as possible," Toti wrote on Facebook on Thursday evening (July 7).

In Liguria it rained significantly less than usual this year.

The drought is also affecting some popular holiday regions in Italy.

The water level at Lake Garda, for example, has already visibly fallen.

Due to the extreme drought, some water is now being pumped out to counteract the emergency.

In the coming week, a heat wave will also spill over to Bavaria.