Italy in grips of severe drought as Po river dries up | DW News

Local authorities across Italy have begun rationing water, due to an ongoing drought. Some municipalities have even banned some activities that use up large volumes of water.
The drought is also hitting hard on the country's agriculture industry, with the effects, at the very least, likely to be felt for months to come.

Especially hard hit is Italy's longest river, the Po. So what can be done to prevent a catastrophe?

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[richardm]

"You probably have never heard of this river" *historians die on the inside*

[davideforesti]

The Po valley was once covered in forests. Bears, deers and boars roamed in all of it. They do not even consider to reforest the area. The majority of the cropland is for annuals that are used for animal consumption. At least turning it into agroforestry systems where the animals can grow and feed themselves from the land, we would lower emissions and mitigate the droughts. Wake up Italy!

[julien]

You may think this is unbearable ? Brace yourself, it's only gonna get worse. It's only the beginning.

[charlesward]

Step one, implement “regenerative agriculture” techniques. The Po has historically flooded, which is an symptom of watershed scale mis-management. Emphasis should be placed on retaining water on the land as long as possible through the use of keypoint swales and ponds. Eliminated all spray irrigation which loses excessive amounts to evaporation, and replace it with drip irrigation. Reforest areas to reduce flooding and soil loss, and encourage recharge of aquifers to help sustain uses during predictable periods of low rainfall.

[sword_of_light]

This is an almost exact parallel to what's happening to the Colorado River in the US. Lack of snowfall, a long-term drought, and diversion of the river's water to urban and agricultural concerns have severely depleted the Colorado. Unlike the United States, however, it's difficult to relocate away from a drought-stricken area - which is what may have to happen to cities like Las Vegas or Phoenix. Hopefully the water catchment plan is a long-term solution, but it's hard to predict how climate change will continue to alter weather patterns.

[aaronparys]

Water retention Ponds/Storm Management should be built in every municipality, Everywhere, in every Country !! .. Also look at Ground Cover/Tree's to help maintain Soil moisture .

[lucaesposito]

Speaking of "water bombs", just yesterday a sudden and violent storm hit my city and province (Piacenza, a city along the Po river) with very strong winds that caused a lot of damage to structures, injured people and the final outcome of a dead man.
In the Po Valley these events are becoming more and more violent and sudden year after year.
Each summer is always hotter than the previous one, and when it finally rains, it not only lasts very little, but manifests itself with a destructive violence that seems only a cruel joke of fate.


PS: what about that cheerful tune as the background to a video that has something dramatic?

[ozehtdz]

For that reason it made me laugh seeing san Pellegrino mineral water still being shipped to Ireland. It's like bringing wood into the forest.

[klaasdeboer]

I want to thank Duetche welle for using subtitles in stead of a voice over!!!

[bullet]

Humans have lavished over Gold, silver, diamonds and all other forms of nonsense...but ignored the most precious life necessity....Water...without it we would surely parish...💯

[gardnmama]

Farmers need to look toward Regenerative Farming methods to reduce flooding and better absorb the rainfall. Dense cover crops is a very quick option to help reduce the damage.

[antolovelli]

Nobody talked about the massive urban constructions driving water to get lost and not absorbed by terrain

[josearmandoramos]

Between 70 and 80% of the water supply is used for food and agriculture. Look into Regenerative Agriculture, it is the way to go forward since it takes care of many of the problems that we are having: drought, floods, dwindling food production, etc. The reason is that it takes care of the source, our soils, that have been degraded over years of intensive agricultural practices. With or without rain, degraded soils can't infliltrate water effectively so it runs off or evaporates. This is also why the excessive irrigation needs of modern agriculture. On the other hand, healthy soils and vegetarion are able to retain water so irrigation needs come down drastically. Many farmers in the US have been able to do this in 2 or 3 years... On that note, right now there is a global movement called Save Soil that is trying to push for soil protection policies in all countries. It is gaining a lot of momentum..

[yuyutubee]

The sound mixing on this video is terrible. I can barely understand the narrator because the bass is mixed too high and everything above it is far too low.

[kenhunt]

Rain barrels, cisterns, swales, berms, one rock dams all help to plant the rain.
All the best Italia.

[michelangelomissoni]

Government subsided mass drip-irrigation projects are needed through all of Italy's agricultural regions. Water usage rates would drop by 80-90%, and since agriculture makes up the majority of water usage it would save the nation's future.

[MatteoTN]

The climatic change since the 1980's has been dramatic in northern Italy, especially as temperatures, but now also as precipitation patterns.

[mlight]

Suggestions from a desert dweller
1. Harvest rainwater/stormwater
2. Solar cells
3. Greenhouses

[johnforsyth]

A similar thing is happening to Lade Mead in the American Southwest. The revisor behind Hoover Dam is gotten very low due to a severe draught. You can now see boats and planes in the lake that have not been seen in over sixty years.

[laurentbeaulieu]

Same in Canada, population not in farming are oblivious to the problem. Sad.