“We need 50 days of rain”

Italy faces a new drought. Winter has translated, for the moment, into weeks of cold and low rainfall that already show its consequences in one of the icons of the country: Venice and its canals, totally dry to the perplexity of the Venetians themselves and of the tourists.

Traditionally, concerns around Venice have centered on the floods. Hence the striking nature of the unusually low tides that they are drying up their canals. The gondolas, which in Venice have the particularity of working as water taxis, even the ambulances that navigate the canalsThey have been totally inoperative.

The scientists had already alarmed that the situation was an emergency after last summer the Alps receive less than half their normal snowfall. Even so, the problems in Venice are due to a combination of factors: the lack of rain, yes, but also a high pressure system, the full moon and ocean currents.

“We are in a situation of water deficit that has been accumulating since the winter of 2020-2021“, climate expert Massimiliano Pasqui told Corriere della Sera. “We need to recover 500 mm in the north-western regions: we need 50 days of rain“, he added.

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Drought throughout Italy

the environmental group Legambient He has denounced that the drought not only affects Venice, but is having consequences throughout the country, especially in the northern part of Italy. “Italian rivers and lakes suffer from a serious lack of waterthey said.

The Po, the longest river in Italywhich runs from the Alps in the northwest to the Adriatic, has 61% less water than normal for this time of year, the organization added in a statement.

Last July, Italy declared a state of emergency in the areas surrounding the Po, which represent about a third of agricultural production country, and suffered its worst drought in 70 years.

The water level of the Lake Garda, in northern Italy, has fallen to record lowswhich has made it possible to reach the small island of San Biagio, in the lake, through an exposed path.

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The situation has worsened in the last 15 days due to the anticyclone that is taking place in Western Europe, with mild temperatures more typical of late spring. However, the latest weather forecasts point to the arrival of much-needed precipitation and snow in the Alps. in the coming days.