While most of Italy saw a very wet spring, the southeast is suffering from a drought emergency which could seriously compromise this year's harvest of fruits and vegetables, the Coldiretti farmers' union warned.
The region of Puglia has 226 million cubic meters of water less than it had in its reservoirs did last year and what water there is risk evaporating due to the current heat wave, Coldiretti said.
Reservoirs are also alarmingly low in the neighboring region of Basilicata, with some an estimated two-thirdss below capacity.
The situation is the opposite in the north where, as opposed to recent years, the levels of water in the major lakes are all above average.
However, the rash of bad weather which has hit the north this spring has caused major damage to crops because of recurring hailstorms.
