Po River drying in heatwave threatens Emilia's dairy farms

Italy's longest river is drying up in the grip of a severe heatwave, with seawater beginning to seep into the waterway as it runs low. The Local Italy reported Saturday that the drought is hitting a farming heartland that produces the milk for Parmesan cheese. For Emilia-Romagna, where the Po valley forms the productive plain that defines the region's economy, the crisis strikes at the foundation of one of Italy's most protected food names.

The Parmigiano-Reggiano consortium, which guards the denomination of origin for the cheese, depends on a steady supply of fresh milk from dairy herds across the Po plain. The river provides both irrigation for pasture and water for cooling milk in the early stages of production. As temperatures exceed 40 degrees Celsius across the plain, the dual pressure of evaporation and heavy irrigation demand has left the Po at historic lows, forcing farmers to rely on increasingly stressed groundwater reserves.

The heatwave affecting Italy is part of a broader European crisis. According to the Guardian, Germany and Italy endured sweltering conditions on Saturday as a heatwave linked to dozens of deaths across western Europe spread eastwards, with temperatures breaking records above 40 degrees Celsius. The Local Italy reported that at least 193 million people across Europe were expected to experience temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius on Saturday alone.

For the Po valley, the drought represents a compounding threat. Seawater intrusion into a depleted river system can contaminate aquifers and soil, a particular danger in a delta region already vulnerable to subsidence. Dairy farmers in Emilia-Romagna have begun rationing water use and shifting grazing patterns, moves that could affect both milk yield and quality—factors that directly influence the certification standards for Parmigiano-Reggiano. The cheese's strict production rules require milk from grass-fed herds within a defined geographic zone, and sustained drought stress on pasture and water supply could force producers to reduce output or seek alternative sources.

Broader European coverage has noted that climate change is driving these extremes. The Local Italy reported Friday that human-caused climate change is "unequivocally" responsible for the intensity of the record-breaking heatwave scorching Europe. Italian grid operators have already warned of blackouts as electricity demand surges; for agriculture, the crisis compounds as both water and power become scarce. Farmers across the plain are facing a choice between competing demands: irrigating crops, watering livestock, and maintaining the cooling systems that preserve milk quality for cheese production.

The threat extends beyond a single harvest. If the Po continues to decline and seawater intrusion accelerates, the long-term viability of dairy farming in the region could shift. Parmigiano-Reggiano producers have built centuries of reputation on terroir—the specific conditions of the Po plain—and a sustained water crisis could force a reckoning with the production model itself. The consortium has not yet issued public statements on drought contingencies, but the scale of the crisis suggests that conversations about water allocation and production flexibility are already underway among producers and regional authorities.