Milan is blanketed in smog, empty reservoirs are burning in Sicily, lack of rain across Italy is worsening pollution and causing drought, and wine production is declining in Piedmont.
Gas-guzzling cars were banned from the roads in Milan and eight other cities in Lombardy on Tuesday after high levels of particulate pollution dangerous to health were recorded in an industrial area in northern Italy. .
The practice of spraying animal waste on fields, which causes high levels of nitrate pollution, was also banned in the region, which is home to many intensive livestock farms.
Northern Italy has long been ranked as the most polluted region in Europe.
Part of Lombardy’s problem is geographical. Because it is located in a mountainous basin, ventilation is poor.
But clean air campaigners say this handicap is too often used by authorities as an excuse for high levels of air pollution.
High particle levels were also recorded in the capital, Rome.
Regions across Italy are suffering from drought and severe lack of rainfall.
Snowfall has decreased in both the Alps and Apennines.
According to the CIMA Research Foundation, Italy’s snow water equivalent, or the amount of water stored in snowpack, is down 64% this month compared to last year.
～Bees who wake up early～
The lack of rainfall is exacerbating an already difficult situation after last year’s heat wave caused reservoir levels to drop and water consumption to rise.
Sicily declared a natural disaster due to drought earlier this month, while farmers in Sardinia have limited water available.
Reservoir levels there are down 23% compared to the past 14-year average.
The southern regions of Puglia and Basilicata have also been affected, with farming group Coldiretti warning that rising temperatures will cause thousands of bees to wake up early this weekend.
This threatens pollination of some crops because bees are out of sync with the flowering times of the plants they collect pollen from.
Meanwhile, the northwestern Piedmont region asked the Agriculture Department on Monday to declare a natural disaster due to drought in the region, saying it was affecting vineyards and causing a “significant” decline in wine production.
Experts say climate change caused by human activities is increasing the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events such as heat waves, droughts and wildfires.
Global warming emissions, mainly due to the combustion of fossil fuels, have been increasing in recent years. Scientists say it needs to fall by almost half over the next decade.
