Po Valley drought alert climbs as Veneto's waterways tighten

Italian authorities on Thursday raised the drought alert level to "high" for the Po Valley, home of the country's longest river, with worsening conditions and more extreme heat expected, The Local Italy reported.

The Po is the hydrological spine of northern Italy, feeding a network of tributaries and canals that reach across the Veneto plain before entering the Adriatic just south of the lagoon.

For Veneto, the alert is not a distant meteorological bulletin: the region's agriculture, its small-firm export districts and the delicate balance of the Venice lagoon all depend on water from the same basin.

With the August exodus now beginning and another heatwave forecast, the strain on the region's water systems is set to intensify through the month.