Crops have been decimated by the lack of water and irrigation is impossible in the wake of the latest threat.
Salt water from the Adriatic Sea has begun to flow into the Po River, wreaking further havoc.
The encroaching seawater cannot be used for irrigation in Italy’s agricultural areas, as the high salinity would burn the remaining crops.
Four kilometres from where the Po meets the sea, in the Northern Italian village of Scardovari, waves batter the anti-salt barriers and begin to make their way downstream.
“Salt water is entering the water table,” Giancarlo Mantovani – director of Reclaiming the Po – said.
“There are parts of the field with no plants and others where they grow regularly.
“If there is no rain in the next 10 to 15 days, the crops that haven’t already died will be gone.
“At this stage, we’re just progressively losing the harvest.”
The Po runs through the heartland of Italy’s agricultural production, where almost a third of the country’s produce is grown.
The river is currently suffering from the combined effects of a lack of winter snow and an early, heatwave-prone summer.
Federica Vidali, an agricultural entrepreneur, has suffered the loss of several crops, including soybeans, alfalfa and honey.
“Without rain, the water flow of the Po has dropped considerably,” she said.
“There’s not enough to counteract the rising sea water in the river.
“This means that sea water has entered our irrigation channels.”
Vidali, who also keeps bees, has also had her honey production damaged, as her crops cannot produce flowers for the insects to feed on.
“I’m trying to be optimistic,” she said.
“But when it doesn’t rain, and you see a whole year of work lost, you become sad and afraid.”
Luigi Ferraris, a farmer in Pavia, shares Vidali’s concerns.
His rice-fields are completely dried out and the cost of the damage is already sky-high.
“Rice is harvested in September and October,” Ferraris said.
“We still must get through July and August, two very hot months.
“I don’t know what will happen if it doesn’t rain.”
The lack of available produce this year will impact next year’s supply, creating flow-on effects for consumers across Italy and the world.
