“The rain that fell in May interrupts the series of months with below-average precipitation, but does not reduce the deficit accumulated in recent months. The regional average of monthly precipitation was approximately 47 millimeters, significantly higher than the norm for the period 2003-2022 which is equal to approximately 17 millimetres”. This is what emerges from the analysis of the Sicilian Agrometeorological Service (Sias) based on the data collected by the monitoring stations.
“The regional average number of rainy days – explain Sias – was equal to 4.5 compared to a normal value of 3.1, with a maximum of 9 rainy days recorded by the Sias Linguaglossa Etna Nord station and a minimum of 2 rainy days recorded by the Pantelleria station and by various stations in the central southern sector in the provinces of Agrigento, Caltanissetta and Ragusa – we read again – on the Sias network the maximum monthly accumulation of 167.4 mm was recorded by the Linguaglossa Etna Nord station, which also recorded the maximum daily accumulation on day 9 with 65.6 mm. Hopes of repeating the exceptional contributions of May 2023 were thus disappointed.” The rains brought benefits not only to tree crops, but also to cereals and fodder crops in the cooler hilly and mountainous areas, especially in the western sector, where the crops were still in a sufficiently good vegetative state and could also benefit from these non-recurring contributions. too late. The negative repercussions do not only concern agriculture, but also the livestock sector, which is dealing with a drastic decrease in fodder.
“At the end of May the precipitation accumulated in Sicily in the last 12 months – concludes Sias – with a regional average of 453 mm, fell below the psychological threshold of 500 mm on average, a value that had not been recorded since the great drought of 2002, when in the same period the average accumulation was 415 mm. The areas of the region stand out, mainly in central-eastern Sicily and in the central-southern area, where annual accumulations are less than 300 mm, with deficits reaching over 60% on an annual level, as in Catania, where with only 240 mm falling in a year, over 400 mm of rain is missing.”
