Drought and water resources: in the last 30 years (1991-2020) water availability reduced by 19% compared to the thirty years 1921-1950

What are the short, medium and long-term trends and impacts of climate change on the hydrological cycle and, in particular, on the availability of water resources? The situation that emerges from the first assessments carried out by ISPRA is decidedly not reassuring and a reduction in the availability of water resources is expected at national level, ranging from 10% in the short-term projection, (in the case of an aggressive mitigation approach in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions), up to 40% (with peaks of 90% for southern Italy) in the long-term projection, assuming that the growth of greenhouse gas emissions maintains the current trend.