Gilberto Pichetto Frantin stated that the drought will only get worse in the coming months. He said he hoped it would rain in the next two or three months and that the dams would be filled, otherwise there would be consequences.
No decision has been made yet, negotiations have begun with the operators of the national water system, but we will get there in some regions of Italy
– The Minister of Environmental Protection and Energy Security referred to the possibility of applying “water fees”.
He noted that after the decline that already occurred last year, the capacity of hydroelectric power plants may decline further. According to data published on Friday by Assoidroelettrica, which represents the sector, the performance of hydroelectric power plants in 2022 has fallen to almost half of what it was before, and a worse result is expected this year.
According to data from the Producers Union of Coldiretti, the lack of precipitation has reached enormous proportions, especially in the regions of northern Italy, where the water deficit exceeds 40 percent.
Snowfall is more than 50 percent less than normal in the Alps. The water has disappeared at several points at the bottom of the country’s largest river, the Po. In Venice the small aqueducts dried up.
The agricultural organization has warned that a drought in Po le Land, known as the country’s premier food supply region, could jeopardize the production of a third of traditional Italian products.
According to Coldiretti, there will not be enough durum wheat needed to produce pasta, and the drought will also affect fruit and vegetable production, as well as the production of Parmesan and Parmesan ham. Half of the livestock is located in the northern drought-prone regions. This year’s rice harvest will be the lowest in the past 30 years, and the cultivated area has decreased by eight thousand hectares.
The Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, has announced that she will hold a summit meeting on the 1st of March to assess the available water resources in Italy. Among the items on the meeting’s agenda are reducing network water losses and cleaning riverbeds.
The government’s goal is to develop a medium-term national action plan to deal with the situation caused by the drought. The meeting will be attended by the head of the ministry responsible for using European funds for environmental protection, infrastructure, transport, agriculture and economic recovery. Civil defense representatives will also attend.
Cover image: Getty Images
