La siccità che ha colpito l'Europa nell'estate 2022 è la peggiore in quasi 500 anni. Il dato emerge dal confronto tra i dati ottenuti dai satelliti Copernicus, il programma europeo di osservazione della Terra gestito da Commissione Europea e Agenzia Spaziale Europea (ESA), e quelli di uno studio del 2014, pubblicato sulla rivista Climatic Change e coordinato dall'Università di Berna.
Il satellite Sentinel 2 di Copernicus ha mostrato come vaste regioni in tutta Europa siano passate, tra il primo luglio e il 31 agosto 2022, da un verde rigoglioso a un marrone arido. I danni più significativi alla vegetazione sono ben visibili, in particolare, nelle aree sud-orientali della Gran Bretagna, nella Francia settentrionale e in vaste aree di Germania, Polonia e dell'Europa orientale.
Anche i dati ricavati dall'Osservatorio Globale sulla Siccità (Global Drought Observatory, Gdo) indicano che il 47% dell'Europa ad agosto si trovava in condizioni allarmanti: i segnali più gravi erano la mancanza di umidità nel suolo e gli effetti negativi sulla vegetazione.
Inoltre il livello dell'acqua nei fiumi, compresi Reno, Danubio e Po, è sceso così tanto da impedirne la navigazione, mentre il clima eccezionalmente caldo e secco ha notevolmente aumentato il rischio di incendi boschivi. Le immagini satellitari di luglio 2022, testimoniavano già gli effetti dell'ondata di caldo, con vistose 'cicatrici' nelle zone colpite dagli incendi.
La Svizzera e la lotta alla siccità
Telegiornale 18.07.2022, 22:00
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