Milan Shuts City Fountains, Irrigation of Green Spaces Due to Bad Drought - Mayor

ROME (Sputnik) - The mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala, announced on Saturday that city fountains would be temporarily closed and irrigation of green spaces halted owing to drought, Italy's worst in 70 years.

Milan authorities have introduced a set of emergency measures, published by Sala on social media, that includes a temporary closure of fountains except those located in areas with flora and fauna as well as drinking fountains. Irrigation of public green spaces except for valuable trees will also be suspended.

Sala urged Milan residents to "reduce to a minimum the use of drinking water," both for domestic purposes and for irrigating lawns and private gardens or washing yards and roofs.

On Friday, the northern region of Lombardy, to which Milan is the capital, declared a state of emergency due to drought and "severe water deficit" until September 30. Italian Agriculture Minister Stefano Patuanelli said that the situation with drought is getting "dramatic" and may necessitate limiting water consumption.

On Thursday, the authorities of the metropolitan region of Lazio declared a "natural disaster." The adoption of such orders aims to allocate additional resources to support the population and businesses, as well as appealing to the central authorities for nationwide measures. A similar regime is in place in the northern region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia.

According to Italian media, the country is facing its worst drought in 70 years with water levels in the Po River, considered to be the main water artery of Northern and Central Italy, having fallen by over three-quarters in recent weeks. On June 22, the Italian association of farmers Coldiretti estimated that the damage to the agricultural sector has reached $3.1 billion.