Italy has declared a state of emergency because of drought: ‘There is no doubt that climate change is having an effect,’ the prime minister said

This picture taken on July 2, 2022 in Rome shows the low water level of the river Tiber near the Vittorio Emanuele II bridge, revealing an ancient bridge built under Roman Emperor Nero (Bottom).

The Italian government has declared a state of emergency in five regions due to a lack of rain.

The Italian government is sending relief funds to the regions that have been hardest hit.

According to an analysis by the Po River District Basin Authority, this is the most serious water crisis of the last seven decades.

The Tiber River, which runs through central Italy and Rome and is seen flowing under the famous Vittorio Emanuele II bridge in the image above, is at very low levels.

Damaged soy plants affected by salty seawater flowing into drought-hit River Po are pictured in Porto Tolle, Italy, June 23, 2022. Picture taken 23, 2022. 

The Po River runs from the Pian del Re of Monte Viso in the north to the Adriatic Sea in the south. Seventeen million people live in the basin of the longest river in Italy.

A barge that was sunk during WWII lies on Po’s dry riverbed as parts of Italy’s longest river and largest reservoir of freshwater have dried up due to the worst drought in the last 70 years, in Gualtieri, Italy, June 22, 2022. 

The crisis is the result of three years of dry and warm weather.

There are two causes for the water crisis, one of which is the last three years of rain. In previous years there has been a low level of rain. There is no doubt that climate change is having an effect.

One of the pylons of the bridge that crosses the river Po in the municipality of Boretto, in the province of Reggio Emilia, Italy on June 27, 2022.

Italy is losing water from the Po River because of poor maintenance.

In Italy, we are talking about 30 percent or more of the water being lost, which is unusual. The total in Israel is 3%, and in other European countries it's 6 to 8%. An emergency plan needs to be in place to deal with this emergency.

The Fountain of the Months (Fontana dei Mesi) is pictured closed to avoid wasting water, in the Valentino Park, Turin, Italy June 19, 2022. 

The Po River is an important region for agriculture. More than half the national stock of cattle, 3.1 million animals, and 65% of the national stock of pigs, or 6 million animals, live in the region.

According to a written statement published on Sunday from Coldiretti, an agricultural organization in the European Union, Italy's rice crop has been wiped out due to the lack of rain.

Coldiretti said that the industry had already decreased its seed planting by 10,000 hectares due to the war in Ukranian.

A man walks on the dry riverbed of Sangone river, a tributary of the Po river, which experiences its worst drought for 70 years, in Beinasco, Turin, Italy June 19, 2022.