Water is already brought to some municipalities in Northern Italy by tanker trucks.
The water level of Lake Garda in northern Italy is already so low in spring that you can reach the island on the lake on foot.
The winter rains were few. The melt water from the alpine snow covers fills the lake, but this winter the snowfall was also scarce.
So Italy is preparing for a serious drought in the summer for the second year in a row. Last year Italy suffered the worst drought in 70 years.
Even last year, Italy’s great lakes mitigated the effects of the drought. Now, however, the water level of Lake Garda is well over half the normal level. In February, the water level was at its lowest up to 35 years (you switch to another service).
According to Coldiretti, Italy’s largest agricultural union, the agricultural sector lost around six billion euros last year. According to the union, around 300,000 companies will lose an even larger amount if the drought does not end.
However, according to experts interviewed by Reuters, this would require almost non-stop rain in May and June, when most farmers start watering their fields.
Last month, the Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni appointed a special task force to solve the water crisis.
At the local level, for example, the regional administration of Lombardy has asked water companies and hydropower operators to curb water consumption.
The extreme drought in the Lombardy and Piedmont regions of northern Italy is currently affecting six percent of the municipalities in the region, according to Utilitalia, the Italian association of water, environmental and energy services. According to the association, some municipalities already have to bring water with tanker trucks.
Sources: Reuters, AFP, AP