The real smear to scream about is that red on the map of Europe. No, it has nothing to do with it paint and is not the work of young activists. That anomalous red is the failure of international politics that pretends not to see New Year 2023 as the hottest day ever recorded in January in many countries on the continent.
The mercury column has reached values since the beginning of summer. In central and northern Europe, the New Year was marked by hundreds of new heat records
In fact, the mercury column has reached values since the beginning of the summer, breaking hundreds of records. The most shocking data comes from central and northern Europe, where New Year’s Day was marked by hundreds of new heat records.
Italy has been in the grip of the anticyclone for weeks now, responsible for temperatures well above the norm with peaks that frequently go beyond 20 degrees in the Center-South and above all on the major islands.
Its effects are felt even in stable weather conditions, with almost completely absent rainfall in one of the periods of the year which should instead represent a key moment for “stocking up” on extremely precious water resources.
Italy is hit by a severe drought with dramatic effects on the environment
In the last year, about 50 billion cubic meters of water fell along the Peninsula hit by a severe drought with dramatic effects for the environment, agriculture but also for snow tourism. Coldiretti also affirms it with reference to the forecast of stable weather until Epiphany in Italy where unusual high temperatures are recorded but also the absence of snow
on the Apennines with difficulty for tourism and countryside.
“If the ski slopes in central Italy are deserted with heavy damage to the local economy, the fall of snow in this season – underlines Coldiretti – is in fact crucial for the recovery of water resources in the mountains and to favor agricultural production, according to the old peasant adage ‘bread under the snow’”. Instead, 2022 ranks so far among the driest of the last thirty years with the fall of 30% less water than the historical average of the period 1991-2020, according to Coldiretti elaborations on Isac Cnr data relating to the first eleven months of the year.
What is worrying, says Coldiretti, is the anomalous heat with the crops deceived by a false spring that are preparing for the vegetative restart with anomalous buds and blooms, from mimosas to lemons. The real risk is that, concludes the agricultural confederation, in the next few weeks the sudden waves of nocturnal frost will burn flowers and buds of plants and trees, with serious effects on the next future harvests. The effects of climate change are all already here.
Rising temperatures increase heat-related illnesses
Rising temperatures increase heat-related illnesses and can make it harder to work and travel. Fires start more easily and spread faster. Changes in temperatures cause changes in the precipitation pattern. As a result, more intense and frequent storms occur, causing flooding and landslides, destroying homes and communities, costing billions of dollars. Water is becoming scarcer in more regions.
Droughts can unleash destructive sand and dust storms that are capable of moving billions of tons of sand from one continent to another. Deserts are expanding, reducing the land used for growing food. Many people now face the threat of not having enough water and food on a regular basis.
The smear for which the president of the Senate, Ignazio La Russa, the entire Parliament and the government should bring a civil action is this one.