Greatest drought in 70 years, Italy proclaims a state of emergency

Italy has declared its state of emergency in five northern regions amid its worst drought in 70 years.

This situation is being applied to the Emilia-Rmagna regions, Friulia Venice Giulia, Lombardia, Piemte and Venetto, the government said in a statement, Euronews wrote.

The movement approved by the Council of Ministers envisions 36.5m euros allocated to cope with the drought.

The river valley “Po”, which produces about 40 percent of the country's food, including wheat and rice, has had almost no rainfall for about four months.

Italy's longest river is seven meters below average.

Almost half of Italian livestock at risk

The state of emergency aims to provide extraordinary “media and competencies” to ensure the implementation of urgent interventions needed to ensure public safety, repair of damage to public and private property and normal living conditions.

According to the country's largest agricultural union, Coldiretti, drought is threatening half the livestock in the Po Valley, where Parma ham is produced.

Maggior and Garda lakes have lower levels than normal water for this time of year, while the level of the Tiber River, which crosses Rome, has declined farther south.

Another consequence of the drought is that the production of hydroelectric energy has declined significantly. Hydroelectric installations, located mostly in the mountainous regions of northern Italy, produce about 20 percent of the country's energy.

The announcement comes a day after at least seven people died after a glacier in the Italian Alps collapsed, “undoubtedly” linked to global warming, according to Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi.

More than a hundred municipalities in northern Italy have been forced to approve measures to save water. Verona, a town with a quarter of a million people, and Piza recently joined them.