Frost in North, snow in Center, drought in South: bad spring weather puts agriculture in crisis

From Trentino Alto Adige, where farmers light fires in orchards to save them from frost, to Sicily, bent by the drought that gives farmers no respite, via Tuscany struggling with rain and even snow. The situation of the countryside photographs Italy literally divided in two by the effects of climate change, according to the latest monitoring carried out by Coldiretti with the sudden return of cold weather in the North, after a 2024 beginning that for the northern regions was the hottest ever with +2.20 degrees compared to the historical average (elaboration on Isac CNR data), exposes crops to the risk of frost and the first damage is already reported on the Apennines of Emilia, while for some regions the yellow alert has been triggered. Opposite situation in the South where the drought is “burning” cereals and fodder for animals, with farmers struggling to feed their animals.
In the North, the most critical situation is in the countryside of Trentino where both anti-defrost systems and orchard fires are activated given the temperatures that have already gone below zero, creating a lot of damage to farmers. A mobilization also took place in Piedmont, with fruit farms that have set up nets and are ready possibly to light candles, while rain is falling in Friuli Venezia Giulia, Lombardy and Veneto where the seasonal weather pattern is creating quite a few problems for fruit development. Rain is expected in the Ferrara area all week, with low temperatures that, Coldiretti explains, will slow the development of horticultural crops such as asparagus and the ripening of strawberries. Problems that will also have those who have sown corn or are supposed to do so, and who due to wet soils will have to slow down and postpone processing. But snow has also arrived in the Emilia Apennines, with crops “lured” by the weight of the white blanket, while bees venturing out of hives are being killed by the cold.
The South, on the other hand, struggles with drought. Very complicated situation in Sicily, where Coldiretti has asked the government to declare a state of emergency to address the “unprecedented” water crisis that has been gripping the region for weeks. All sectors are in trouble, but suffering the most are livestock and cereals. Severe drought is also affecting Sardinia, where Coldiretti has issued a call to mayors on the southeastern side to apply to the region for a state of natural disaster. The emergency is also bringing farmers and breeders to their knees here with a crisis linked to the lack of rain. Remaining in the South, another complicated condition is that of Apulia, where the water crisis has led to a drastic drop in green fodder in pastures with the aggravation of costs for the purchase of feed necessary to guarantee the feeding of animals in the stables, which is already on the rise also due to the current crisis over international conflicts. But also approaching is the danger of frost that puts crops at risk due to the abrupt drop in the mercury column, with evident damage in spots on vineyards in Capitanata, in the countryside of Gioia del Colle in the province of Bari and in Castellaneta in the province of Taranto.
In the center, the concern is for the frost that also hit Tuscany with lots of snow at high altitude and some hailstorms between Siena and Arezzo over the weekend that created problems in the fields. Things are better in Umbria and Abruzzo, where the situation is being monitored constantly, but at the moment there are no particular alarms, and in the Marche region, which after the hailstorms of the past few days, have not recorded damage, except minimal, in the vineyards on young leaves that should recover anyway.