Cruise bookings may cancel at Italy's Po River due to a desperately dry summer

Italy’s largest river is already as low as it was last summer, with the winter snow fields that normally save it from drying up over the warmer months having receded by 75%, according to the Bolzano climate and environment agency. Boats lie on the dried shipyard on the Po River in Torricella, near Cremona, Italy, Italy's largest river is already as low as it was last summer, sparking fears of precariously dry months ahead. Cruise bookings may cancel at Italy's Po River due to a desperately dry summer It's already causing some reliant on the Po to course correct. “In a few days I will have to cancel all bookings for our Po River cruises because of the shallow water,” said captain Giuliano Landini as he shook his head, his arms stretched wide on the command deck of the Stradivari ship docked under the Boretto bridge and surrounded by long stretches of sand. The Pascolone farm is now using drip irrigation methods that trickle water at lower rates and the help of Irriframe, a public and free internet portal that analyzes weather data, underground humidity probes and aquifers levels, giving exact indications on where, when and how much water needs to be poured on the fields.