Drought and Heat

Italy’s Largest River Is Now Just a Trickle

The Po River is currently carrying very little water.(Bild: AFP/Stefano RELLANDINI)

A prolonged drought and a series of heat waves are causing tension in Italy. The situation is particularly dire in Lombardy: Water reserves in northern Italy have shrunk dramatically, and Italy’s largest river, the Po, has dwindled to a trickle near the city of Cremona.

According to the Farmers’ Association’s Water Observatory, the major lakes of northern Italy are also well below their typical water levels for this time of year.

In Lombardy, only about 798.5 million cubic meters of water are currently available. Normally, the water reserve at this time of year amounts to about 1.6 billion cubic meters. This means that less than half of the usual amount is available.

More sandbars than water
At more than 600 kilometers, the Po is Italy’s longest river. Satellite images from the European Earth observation program Copernicus, taken between August 1 and 3, show unusually large sand and gravel banks along the river near Cremona that are normally submerged.

The Po is currently carrying very little water.(Bild: AFP/Stefano RELLANDINI)

Further downstream, the situation is worsening. At Pontelagoscuro in the province of Ferrara, the discharge rate dropped to 220.4 cubic meters per second in early August. By the end of June, the flow there had already dropped to only about 350 cubic meters, while the seasonal average is around 1,100 cubic meters. In July, the flow remained consistently below 320 cubic meters.

Saltwater is penetrating deep into the estuary branches
The low flow has consequences all the way to the Po estuary: Saltwater is now penetrating more than 20 to 25 kilometers into the estuary branches of the delta. As a result, the water is too salty for irrigating agricultural land. Irrigation has been partially suspended, and harvests are at risk. River ecosystems and freshwater fisheries are also suffering from this development.

The water shortage throughout the entire Po River basin has now been classified as “high.” The responsible monitoring body raised the classification from “moderate” to “high” at the end of July.

Dramatic Situation in Veneto as Well
Major rivers in Veneto are also affected. On the Brenta River near Bassano del Grappa, only 31 cubic meters of water per second were recently measured, compared to a minimum of 44 cubic meters. Water withdrawals from the Tagliamento, Livenza, and Piave rivers have been partially suspended because saltwater from the sea is also penetrating upstream in those areas.