Italians Face Fines For Wasting WaterAs Supplies Rationed Amid Drought

凱倫

Italy has had one of its driest winters in the last 65 years，with rainfall 80% lower than the seasonal average. The situationhas been more acute in northern regions，where some areas havebeen deprived of significant rainfall for three months or more.The Po，the country’s longest river，is at its lowest levelrecorded in winter since 1972.

Mayors of towns in regions including Piedmont，Liguria，Lombardy and Trentino have introduced water- rationing measures，ranging from fountains being switched off and nightlyrestrictions on tap water to bans on using water for gardens andallotments，for washing cars and filling swimming pools.

Fines of up to €500 are in place for those deemed to besquandering supplies.

“I don’t ever recall a situation of this kind in winter. Wehaven’t had any rain since 8 December，”said FrancescoPietrasanta，the mayor of Quarona，a town in Piedmont.“Thereare issues with water wells，some areas have had to be suppliedby water tanks. The rule is to only use water for real necessity，such as for hygiene or food reasons.”

In Bajardo，a village in Liguria，the water supply to tapshas been switched off between 8pm and 8am. Its mayor，Francesco Laura，said he had no choice.“The springs have driedup，”he told La Stampa.“The water from the mountains nolonger comes，and in the village the little that comes from taps isused for cooking and washing.”Laura said there had been littleor no rain in the village since October 2020.

The winter drought followed an intense， protractedheatwave across Italy last summer. In August，Siracusa in Sicilyis believed to have broken the European record for the highesttemperature when it recorded a figure of 48.8C. Snowfall hasalso been below average this winter.

意大利剛經歷了過去65 年來最干旱的一個冬天，降雨量比季節平均水平低了80%。意大利北部地區的干旱更為嚴重，一些地區已經至少有三個月沒怎么下雨了。意大利最長河流波河的水位已經降至1972 年以來的冬季最低水平。

皮德蒙特、利古利亞、倫巴第和特倫蒂諾等地區的鎮長都推出了一系列定量供水措施，包括關閉飲水器、限制夜間使用自來水、禁止將花園和土地用水用于洗車或給游泳池充水。

浪費用水的居民將被處以最高500 歐元（約合人民幣3500 元）的罰款。

皮德蒙特區夸羅納鎮的鎮長弗朗西斯科·彼得拉桑塔說：“我不記得以前的冬天出現過這種情況。自從12 月8 日以來我們這里就沒下過一滴雨。水井枯竭了，部分地區不得不用水箱供水。我們規定，只有在真正有必要的時候才能用水，比如出于衛生或飲食目的。”

在利古利亞區巴亞爾多的一個村莊，晚8點到早8 點之間的自來水供應被切斷。鎮長弗朗西斯科·勞拉表示，他沒有選擇的余地。他告訴《新聞報》說：“泉水枯竭了。山上的水源沒有了，村里的一點自來水只能用于煮飯和清洗。”勞拉說，自從2020 年10 月以來村里就幾乎不下雨了。

在這個干旱的冬天之前，去年夏季意大利各地經歷了嚴重而持久的熱浪。去年8月，西西里島的錫拉庫薩溫度達到了48.8 攝氏度，據認為打破了歐洲有史以來的高溫紀90 錄。今冬意大利的降雪量也低于平均水平。

很早以前，科學家就預測，氣候危機和全球變暖會導致更頻繁的極端天氣。

利古利亞區奇薩諾鎮鎮長馬西莫·涅羅告訴當地報紙《Il Vostro Giornale》說：“已經6 個月不下雪也不下雨了。今年夏天肯定會出問題。”

天氣預報稱，近期意大利北部和其他地區會有降雨，但是彼得拉桑塔表示，降雨量要夠大才能解決缺水問題。

他說：“我們這里可能會下雨，但我不確定降水量是否足夠。在這種缺水的情況下，我們應該考慮改變政策，用不同的方式來管理水資源，尤其是在氣候變化的大背景下。”