Italian government rolls out plan to combat drought
Pastor Dale Morgan
Italian government rolls out plan to combat drought*
ROME, March 7 (AFP) Mar 07, 2007
Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi has instructed regional authorities
to set in motion a plan to combat drought amid persistent dry weather
conditions, press reports said Wednesday.
"The water deficit is large and widespread," Prodi said in a circular,
calling on them to take "effective" steps to better manage water
resources, including reducing or prohibiting non-essential use.
Following a relatively dry autumn and winter -- with rainfall between 20
and 40 percent less than normal -- meteorologists are predicting
continued dry weather.
The situation is especially worrisome in the northeast, where rainfall
has been down by 50 to 60 percent, the civil guard said.
This winter saw snow across only one-third of the area covered in
2005-06, and Italy's longest river, the Po, is flowing 500 cubic meters
per second less than average.
Lake Como's level is also far below normal.
"We are in an emergency situation, but not a situation of alarm," said
civil guard chief Guido Bertolaso.
December 2006 was the warmest in Italy since records began in 1860.
Drought in 2003 caused damage, mainly to crops, estimated at some five
billion euros (6.5 billion dollars).