Italy has declared a state of emergency in five northern regions. Monday, July 4 A fund of 36.5 million euros has been announced to deal with the drought affecting the Po plain. From a few weeks.

A government press release said the Council of Ministers had approved a state of emergency until December 31 in Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lombardy, Veneto and Piedmont.

The Italian peninsula is facing unusually early heat and a lack of rain, particularly in the agricultural plain of the Po, in its worst drought in 70 years.

The aim is to allow the state of emergency “Extraordinary Means and Powers” To ensure the implementation of emergency interventions necessary to ensure public safety, repair damage to public and private properties and normal living conditions of the population.

According to Coldiretti, the country’s largest agricultural union, the drought threatens more than 30% of national agricultural production and half of the farms in the Po plain that produce Parma ham.

Lake Maggiore and Lake Garda are showing below-normal water levels for this time of year, while south of the Tiber, which flows through Rome, levels have also dropped.