Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD/MILAN: Weeks of dry winter weather raised concerns that Italy could face another drought after the previous summer’s emergency, with the Alps receiving less than half of their snowfall, according to scientists and environmental groups.
The warning comes as Venice, where flooding is usually the primary concern, faces shallow tides that make it impossible for gondolas and ambulances to navigate some of its top canals.
The issues in Venice are being blamed on a combination of factors, such as a lack of rain, a high-pressure system, a full moon, and sea currents.
Italian lakes and canals lack water
Italian lakes and canals are suffering from a severe lack of water, the Legambiente environmental group said, with attention focused on the north of Italy.
The Po, Italy’s largest river, which runs from the Alps in the northwest to the Adriatic, has 61 percent less water than usual at that time of year, it added in a statement.
The previous July, Italy declared a state of emergency for places surrounding the Po, which accounted for roughly a third of Italy’s agricultural production and suffered the worst drought for 70 years.
“We are in the water deficit situation that has been building up since the winter of 2020-2021,” climate expert Massimiliano Pasqui from the Italian scientific research institute CNR is quoted as saying by the daily Corriere della Sera.
