After the great heat and drought that burned the land, sending the crops into water shock, there is a hail alarm in the countryside where seasonal productions from cherries to wheat are at risk, with the climatic anomaly determined by a temperature even 2% higher. 01 degrees above average and no rain. This is what Coldiretti Puglia states, in reference to the hailstorm that hit the province of Bari with its epicenter between Altamura and Santeramo. Hail – underlines Coldiretti Puglia – is the adverse climatic event most feared by agriculture in this seasonal phase due to the irreversible damage it causes to crops in the field, because it hits the fruits in such a way as to cause them to fall or damages them in such a way as to prevent their growth or leaving deformations that make them unsuitable for marketing. An adverse climatic event which – explains the regional Coldiretti – is repeated more and more frequently but what also changes is the size of the grains which has increased considerably in recent years with the fall of real blocks of ice even larger than a ball tennis.
We are faced with the obvious consequences of climate change where the exceptional nature of atmospheric events is now the norm, with a tendency towards tropicalization which – Coldiretti Puglia insists – manifests itself with a higher frequency of violent demonstrations, seasonal phase shifts, short and intense rainfall and the rapid transition from sunshine to bad weather, with significant temperature changes that compromise crops in the fields with losses in national agricultural production and damage to structures and infrastructure in the countryside. The effects on the fields of the tropicalization of the climate are disastrous, eliminating in a few moments the efforts of farmers who lose production and at the same time suffer – reports Coldiretti Puglia – the increase in costs due to the necessary reseeding, further processing, purchase of seedlings and seeds. and additional use of machinery and fuel. Agriculture is the economic activity that, more than any other, experiences the consequences of climate change on a daily basis, but it is also the sector most committed to combating it – concludes Coldiretti Puglia – it is a new challenge for agricultural businesses that must interpret the innovations reported by climatology and the effects on crop cycles and water management.
