Italy's River Po drained by worst drought in 70 years

STORY: The River Po, which runs for more than almost 404 miles from west to east across the north of the country, is suffering the extreme effects of a lack of winter snow compounded by a baking early summer.

Italy declared a state of emergency along the river, which supports about a third of the country's agricultural production, after facing its hottest July since 1800, with temperatures expected to rise next week.

The summer crisis comes after one of the driest winters in decades.

Copernicus satellite data recorded almost no precipitation in the region of Piedmont since December 2021 – only 40 millimetres up until February of this year against an expected value of 160 millimetres.