Italy begs for water from Swiss reservoirs
by Marketing
In some regions of northern Italy, there has been practically no rain for months. The Po River has almost dried up. Italian farmers fear for their harvest. Now Switzerland is supposed to help.
The Po Valley is thirsty for water. Due to a prolonged drought in northern Italy, the Po River is at its lowest level in 70 years, reports SRF television. This has far-reaching consequences for agriculture: the water shortage is becoming a problem for harvests in the regions of Piedmont, Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna. Because river water is needed for the fields.
Parma asks for help
In Parma, the authority that monitors the entire river basin is looking for emergency solutions. Its Secretary General, Meuccio Berselli, appeals to Switzerland in the TV report: "We ask our Swiss friends to support the level of Lake Maggiore. This should happen through the reservoirs in the Alps."
But the lakes in Ticino, Lake Lugano and Lake Maggiore, also have low water levels. And it is difficult to fill them up with water from the reservoirs in Ticino, because they are only 30 percent full, as Gaudenz Flury from SRF-Meteo says.
No improvement
The short thunderstorms of the next few days cannot alleviate the situation and for the coming months it looks more like high or even very high drought, Flury said.
blick.ch, published on 22.06.2022