The past few days have been the hottest yet for Italy and have brought to the fore the various issues that need to be resolved by the government with the help of people all over Italy.
In bigger cities such as Rome, Milano, and Bologna several measures are in place to ensure that people at risk, such as the elderly and very young children, are taken care of and have access to basic things such as fans. Firemen all over Italy have undertaken “adoption†programs, inviting elderly to spend the day with them at their fire stations. This provides both an air-conditioned environment and some copmany for the elderly. In other cases the military have assigned care-takers to elderly to ensure that they are taking all necessary precautions. For any queries regarding how to deal with the heat people can call a dedicated free number (numero verde) – 1500.
A serious side-effect of the hot weather, which worries the government and local administrations, is the possibility of blackouts because of the intensive use of air conditioners. In particular the hot and humid climate that has predominated in the North of Italy had led to a consumption that was 2 million MW more that what was expected.
In addition to the above challenges, water supplies all over Italy but particularly in the North are at a worryingly low level. The Minister for Agricultural Policies, Gianni Alemanno, has assured that the relevant data is being analysed and the possibility of declaring a state of natural emergency is not excluded. The water levels of the Po river , which is fundamental to agriculture in the regions of Emilia Romagna, Piemonte, Veneto and Lombardy, are lower than what expected for this time of year and are approaching the historical minimums of July 2003.
The good news is that the already as of today the weather in the North is improving with predictions for Friday and the weekend of lower temperatures and rain. This will provide a welcome break to many, particularly in big cities. For the South, however, the heat wave is expected to continue and intensify.
