June 27, 2026
The flow of Italy's Po has dropped dramatically in less than two weeks as a result of the heatwave gripping Europe, allowing salty seawater to advance as far as 18 km (11 miles) inland and raising fears for the delta's agriculture and protected wetlands.
At the last point before the Po branches into several channels feeding into the Adriatic Sea, the flow has dropped from some 1,000 cubic metres per second to below 300.
While engineers have been tackling the so-called salt wedge for years, barriers built in the 1980s to limit the intrusion of seawater are proving insufficient.
"We are seeing an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme events, which we are also observing here," said Rodolfo Laurenti, director of the Po Delta Reclamation Consortium, which manages and safeguards water resources.
