Italy is in frost, but the drought warning has been extended to the islands, with a request for a state of calamity in Sardinia for the repercussions on the island's agro-pastoral system as well as risks to the irrigation system in the coming months, while rainfall in Sicily was the scarcest in over a century in the second half of 2023, according to the Regional Agrometeorological Information Service. The onset of the great cold along the Peninsula affects winter crops in the field such as cabbage, cabbage, chicory, and broccoli, which can resist temperatures as low as a few degrees below zero, but damage occurs if the temperature drops quickly or if frosts last too long. The plunge of the mercury column with frost also risks burning plant and tree blossoms and buds, with serious consequences for future harvests after the anomalous heat has supported the early emergence of the first sorts of peaches and plums in some regions, such as Tuscany.
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