More than a quarter (28%) of the Italian territory is threatened with soil degradation to desert conditions because of drought and heat which threatens agricultural production in the country, the association of agricultural producers Coldiretti reported.

According to the report, the level of Italy's main water artery, the Po River in the province of Pavia, was 3.3 meters below normal, worse than the values recorded in mid-August.

"The drought has hit the Northern regions in particular. In the area of ​​the Po Valley, the lack of water, according to Coldiretti, has put at risk over 30% of the national agricultural production and half of the livestock," Coldiretti reports. The basins of Italy's largest lakes Maggiore and Como are 19.5% and 17.6% full, respectively, while the valley areas need water to irrigate crops amid a heatwave that will bring temperatures of more than +40 degrees to the Apennines.

Coldiretti notes that the drought situation has taken on a national emergency scale, threatening more serious consequences than similar conditions experienced in 2003.

Because of climate change, more than a quarter of the country (28%) is at risk of desertification, with the damage already exceeding two billion euros, according to Coldiretti, the report says.

In 2022, rainfall is noted to have halved, and in some areas, there is no rain for almost three months.