Po River at historic low as fourth heatwave grips northern Italy

The Po River has fallen to historically low levels as Italy endures its fourth heatwave of the summer, according to a report by Euronews published on Tuesday. The river's dry bed is now exposed in wide stretches near Pavia, in Lombardy, raising fresh concerns over water supplies and farming across northern Italy.

The report comes as forecasters warn that the latest heatwave will continue into the Ferragosto weekend, with highs of 40C expected in parts of the country before temperatures ease early next week. The prolonged heat has left the Po — Italy's longest river — running at levels that threaten the irrigation-dependent agriculture of the Po Valley, one of Europe's most productive farming regions.

For the Veneto, the river's decline is more than a distant meteorological curiosity. The Po forms the region's southern border with Emilia-Romagna, and its waters feed a network of canals that sustain the plains where Prosecco vineyards, maize fields and orchards draw their life. A parched Po means a parched Veneto.

The Po Valley is the agricultural heartland of northern Italy, producing much of the country's rice, wheat, maize and fruit. Its farms rely on a dense system of irrigation canals fed by the river, which rises in the western Alps and flows eastward to the Adriatic. Low water levels in August — the peak of the growing season — can force farmers to ration water or watch crops wither, with ripple effects on food prices and exports.

The drought is part of a broader pattern of climate stress that has repeatedly drawn the world's attention to Italy. In previous years, similar dry spells on the Po have been linked to a lack of Alpine snowmelt and to hotter, drier summers across the Mediterranean basin. Scientists and European science press have pointed to the region as a case study in how climate change compounds existing pressures on water infrastructure.

The timing is especially delicate. With the Ferragosto holiday approaching, when millions of Italians travel to beaches and mountains, the heatwave is expected to strain energy grids as air conditioning use spikes. Water authorities in the north have already flagged the need for careful management of reservoirs, though the Euronews report did not specify whether rationing measures have been introduced.

Seen from Venice, the drought carries an additional irony. The lagoon city is defined by water — its canals, its tides, its long struggle with flooding. But the same regional climate system that brings acqua alta in winter is now delivering summer drought, a reminder that the Veneto's relationship with water is not one of abundance but of precarious balance. The Po's low levels also reduce the flow of freshwater into the Adriatic, which can affect the salinity of the lagoon and the delicate ecosystem of the northern Adriatic coast.

The immediate outlook offers only partial relief. Forecasters cited by The Local Italy expect the heat to ease early next week, but the Po's recovery depends on sustained rainfall and cooler temperatures, neither of which is guaranteed. For farmers and water managers across the Veneto and its neighbours, the coming weeks will test how well the region can adapt to a climate that increasingly oscillates between flood and drought.