Climate change intensifies droughts in Sicily and Sardinia: Study September 6, 2024

With drought conditions intensifying in Sicily, the once-thriving citrus groves are facing significant challenges. Reduced water availability threatens the harvest of these vital fruits, putting farmers' livelihoods and the region's agricultural economy at risk. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

By AFP - Agence France Presse

Climate change intensifies droughts in Sicily and Sardinia: Study

Climate change is intensifying the droughts currently plaguing Sicily and Sardinia, making them 1.5 times more likely to occur, according to a study released on Wednesday by the group World Weather Attribution.

Hot, dry summers are nothing new on the Italian islands, but both have recorded exceptionally low rainfall and persistently very high temperatures over the last 12 months, causing devastating droughts.

Rivers have dried up, crops have withered and drinking water has been rationed in a part of Italy where agriculture and tourism are crucial, prompting Sicily and Sardinia to declare a state of emergency.

The declarations piqued the interest of the WWA, a network of scientists that has pioneered peer-reviewed methods to assess the possible role of climate change in specific extreme events.

“Human-caused climate change has increased the likelihood of droughts causing water shortages and devastating agricultural losses in Sardinia and Sicily by 50%,” the study concluded.

In Sicily, the second half of 2023 was marked by “an unprecedented period of drought, being the driest period in more than a century,” the study noted.

However, the study said that one of the main factors in the drought was not so much the lack of rainfall, but the continued high temperatures, which remained sweltering this summer, even at night.

“We conclude that this increase in drought severity is mainly driven by the very strong increase in extreme temperatures due to human-induced climate change,” the study said.

“Scorching, long-lasting heat is hitting the islands more frequently, evaporating water from the soil, plants, and reservoirs,” said Mariam Zachariah, a researcher at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change at Imperial College London.

“Sardinia and Sicily are becoming increasingly arid with climate change,” she said.

“For farmers and towns that have suffered months of water restrictions, this study is confirmation: climate change is intensifying the droughts.”

The study noted that aging infrastructure was exacerbating water shortages, calling for better water management to help lessen the impact of future droughts.

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