Due to the low rainfall during winter 2021 and spring 2022, summer 2022 is starting with a significant water deficit in central and northern Italy. Due to the high temperatures recorded in the previous weeks and the reduction in snow cover at high altitudes, the conditions of the Po River are among the worst in the last century.
The hyperspectral satellite PRISMA of the Italian Space Agency contributes to environmental monitoring by measuring in detail the properties of the Earth surface.
These acquisitions were obtained in the Codigoro area (Ravenna) in June 2021 and in May 2022. As can be seen from the false color processing, in the last month of May large cultivated areas were already affected by the ongoing drought. The PRISMA satellite, thanks to its advanced sensor, allows for the quantification of soil moisture. In the images shown here, the yellow and brown colors, indicative of water deficit with the Normalized Difference Moisture Index (NDMI), are already dominant in late spring 2022, compared to the summer period of 2021.
Data/Information generated by F. Serva and L. Ansalone under an ASI License to Use; Original PRISMA Product - © ASI - (2022)
