Overview
- The Osservatorio for the Po basin has classified the district as a medium-severity drought, while some river gauges at Cremona and Borgoforte show flows consistent with severe drought.
- Municipalities across Lombardy, Veneto, Piedmont and Marche are receiving emergency drinking-water deliveries by truck as local supplies fall and utility groups report dozens of affected towns.
- Lago Maggiore is near its minimum operational level, prompting warnings that regulators may reduce outflows to avoid compromising reservoir systems and intake structures.
- The Po Delta continues to suffer established saltwater intrusion, now affecting the Po di Goro branch, which threatens freshwater available for drinking and irrigation in the lower basin.
- Recent storms raised levels in some Emilia-Romagna reservoirs but provided only patchy relief, and the Osservatorio will reconvene to reassess measures that could affect irrigation, farm yields and more municipal water deliveries.