Po River drought deepens as fourth heatwave strains northern Italy

Italy's Po River has fallen to historically low levels as the country endures its fourth heatwave of the summer, exposing wide stretches of dry riverbed near Pavia and raising fresh concerns over water supplies and farming across northern Italy, according to Euronews reporting on Tuesday.

The footage and reporting from the river's middle course show the scale of the drought at the height of the agricultural season, with the Po basin serving as the irrigation backbone for the country's most productive farming regions.

The Po is Italy's longest river, running from the Alps in the west across the entire northern plain to its delta on the Adriatic. Its waters feed rice paddies, maize fields, orchards and vineyards that anchor the national food economy, and its decline is watched closely across the north, including in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, where the region's own river systems — the Tagliamento and the Isonzo — respond to the same climatic pressures.

The current episode follows a pattern of recurring summer droughts that have become more frequent in the Po Valley in recent years. The river's flow is fed by Alpine snowmelt and spring rains, and a dry winter followed by a hot summer typically produces the lowest levels, as seen in the severe drought of 2022 that forced restrictions on water use in several regions.

Euronews reported that the low water levels are raising concerns over water supplies for both agriculture and domestic use. The situation is expected to persist as forecasters predict the heatwave to continue into the Ferragosto weekend, with temperatures reaching as high as 40 degrees Celsius in parts of the country, according to The Local Italy.

For the region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, the immediate concern is less the Po itself, which does not cross the region, and more the broader hydrological stress that the heatwave imposes. The region's own rivers and aquifers, which supply irrigation for its vineyards and fruit orchards, face similar pressure from prolonged heat and lack of rain, though no critical shortages have been reported in the region so far.

The drought also carries implications for the port of Trieste and the region's logistics sector, as low river levels on the Po can affect barge traffic on the country's internal waterways, shifting freight to rail and road corridors that pass through the region. The full impact of the current dry spell will depend on whether the expected easing of temperatures early next week brings any significant rainfall.