Italy declares drought
Pastor Dale Morgan
*Italy declares drought*
By Giuseppe Fonte in Italy
May 04, 2007 09:48pm
Article from: Reuters
ITALY has declared a state of emergency in northern and central regions
due to fears of drought following unusually warm and dry weather.
Farmers have been fretting as Italy's largest river, the Po, has dried
up in recent months.
The river, running west to east across northern Italy, feeds the broad
Po valley which accounts for about a third of the country's agricultural
output.
Environment Minister Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio said the state of emergency
had been declared as a precautionary measure.
It came a day after neighbouring France imposed water rationing in
several of its regions, also in fear of drought.
Italy's hottest winter in 200 years meant snowfall was light in the
Alps, with little snow-melt to swell the Po.
Then a hot, dry spring set in, with temperatures in April approaching
levels usually seen in June.
But Cabinet Undersecretary Enrico Letta said the latest news of the Po
and the water situation in general was “reassuring”.
And as the state of emergency was declared, torrential rain was falling
throughout the centre and north of Italy.
Weather has been generally cooler and wetter over the last week.
The environment ministry was unable to give immediate details of what
measures were envisaged.
Officials from the industry ministry, the national electricity grid,
regional governments and emergency services met last month to discuss
measures to replenish the Po and curb electricity consumption to prevent
the risk of summer blackouts.
Drought fears intensified after the Po's level fell by 80cm in late
April, to 6.53m below its normal level in the northern town of
Pontelagoscuro.
Among the measures considered were filling the Po with water flows from
large lakes and reservoirs in the Alps, even though it was not expected
to bring it back to normal levels.
To minimise the risk of blackouts caused by millions of people cranking
up air conditioners, the Government may also allow supplies to some
industrial clients to be temporarily interrupted, and raise electricity
imports.
Around 15 per cent of Italy's electricity is produced from hydro-power
generation. Water supplies are also essential in thermoelectric plants.
Flowing for 650km from the Alps to the Adriatic Sea, the Po has made the
region it crosses Italy's most fertile agricultural region and helped
turn the north into the country's industrial heartland.
Its delta of 70,000 square km houses thousands of rice, maize, tomato
and melon cultivators.