On the occasion of the release of new data from the CIMA Foundation on the snow situation in Italy at the end of the winter season, Greenpeace Italia expresses concern about the water deficit which, already at the end of winter, characterizes the basins of central-southern Italy. In fact, the situation risks worsening with the arrival of the hot season and Sicily is already in a state of emergency due to drought. The end-of-season snow cover balance allows, in fact, to make forecasts on the water reserve available during the summer months, when the water coming from melting snow (summarized by the Snow Water Equivalent indicator) represents an important component of the supply water of the basins.
«The positive national balance of snow resources is only apparently good news, since the river basins of the Apennines are in a condition of worrying water deficit», declares Federico Spadini, Greenpeace Italia climate campaigner. «With another summer of likely record temperatures upon us, we must prepare for a worsening of the drought for millions of people living in the central and southern regions, with dramatic impacts on water availability, health and agricultural production. For this reason we ask the Italian government to stop underestimating the impacts of the climate crisis and to immediately commit to concrete solutions to combat drought and improve the use of water resources which will be increasingly scarce”.
If the Alpine arc is in good condition thanks to the end-of-season snowfalls, in the Apennines the winter was characterized by above-average temperatures and very little snowfall, further highlighting the climate crisis that is impacting the Italian territory: just think of the basin hydrographic of the Tiber river, for which the CIMA Foundation has estimated a water deficit of at least 12% compared to the median value of the decade 2011-2022, or to the water deficit that in the South affected the Alterno Pescara river basins (-66% ), Sangro (-44%) and Crati (-100%).
Greenpeace Italia has therefore put forward eight proposals to fight the drought addressed to the Meloni government. These include the acceleration of the decarbonisation process, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and a series of measures to reduce water consumption in agriculture, encouraging agroecological practices and limiting the impacts and consumption of the livestock sector.
