In northern Italy, it hasn’t rained properly for many months. The country is affected by several heat waves, like several other countries in southern Europe. This has led to extreme drought in the north. On July 4, the Italian government declared a state of emergency in five northern regions due to drought. High water temperature Italy’s largest lake, Lake Garda, has been hit hard by the drought. The water level is approaching the lowest ever measured in the lake. The temperature in the water is around 26 degrees. It is the same temperature that is measured in the Caribbean Sea. The normal temperature in Lake Garda in August is 22 degrees. Lake Garda is a very popular tourist destination. Tourists who come to the lake this year will encounter a completely different landscape than in previous years. Large areas of bleached rock lie dry, far from the usual shoreline. Rocks that are normally under water on the Sirmione peninsula in Lake Garda. The water level in Lake Garda is extremely low. A sea mark that is normally far from land. The tourists relax on whitewashed rocks that are normally covered by water. The medieval town of Sirmione when everything is normal. – We were here last year, we thought it was beautiful here, and we came back this year. Beatrice Masi tells ABC News. – WE saw that the landscape had changed a lot. We were shocked when we went for our usual walk around the lake, the water wasn’t there, says Masi. The mayor of Garda, Mario Treccani, says that the lake is losing two centimeters of water per day. – Normally you can hear the waves breaking on the beach, and the water can splash up on the tourists lying on the beach. Now we hear nothing, he says. – It is sad. Salt water seeps into the Po River The Po River, Italy’s longest river, has dried up significantly in recent months. the water level in the river is more than two meters below average. One reason is that it snowed 70% less in the mountains in the north than it did the year before. At the same time, the heat waves cause the river to dry up. The Po River flows through Italy’s agricultural and industrial areas. Experts say that a weaker river means that more salty seawater penetrates further inland. – Normally, the seawater will come a few kilometers into the estuary. Now data from the Po River shows that the seawater comes as far as 30 kilometers up the river from the mouth, says Paolo Ciavola, professor of coastal dynamics at the University of Ferrara to the BBC. DRIED RIVER BED: A restaurant boat lies in a dried-up tourist harbor on the Po, in the town of Ficarolo. Photo: Luca Bruno / AP The side rivers are also drying up. Together with the Po River, they are a lifeline for cities and towns in northern Italy. – The water is normally used by farmers to irrigate the crops. Now the farmers will lose enormous sums because of the salt water, says Ferrara. DESTROYED CROPS: In Italy and other southern European countries, the crops are drying up. Here, a woman walks and looks at the damaged plants in her rice field in Italy. Photo: Luca Bruno / AP The water kills the plants. They cannot tolerate as high a concentration of salt as there is in the river water. Drought in Europe Heat waves hit several countries in Europe this summer. Forest fires are raging in France, Spain, Portugal and Great Britain. The countries have temperatures of up to 40 degrees. In Portugal, 47 degrees were measured in July. Southern areas of the UK also reached 40 degrees. Climate research is clear that human emissions of CO₂ and other greenhouse gases contribute to more frequent and more intense heat waves. The globe is currently 1.1 degrees warmer than pre-industrial times. The world’s countries have agreed to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. Enormous, rapid emission cuts are needed if this is to be achieved, and to avoid the worst consequences of climate change, according to the UN climate panel.
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Extreme drought in Northern Italy – Lake Garda shrinks to historic levels – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
