Temperatures far above normal in Italy, combined with repeated bright days in an unusual February, have misled 50 billion bees, who have awoken early for the fake spring. This is what emerged from a monitoring by Coldiretti, the largest association representing and assisting Italian agriculture, on the effects of a boiling winter, which came after a 2023 that recorded a 14% drop in rainfall and a temperature 1.14 degrees higher than the historical average of the 1991-2020 period. "Temperatures of up to 20 degrees, from Aosta to Palermo, cause bees to leave their hives, but they risk dying of cold if caught outside the hives when temperatures drop after the sun goes down," Coldiretti said. "On the other hand, a significant lack of blooms uses energy without yielding any harvests, adding to the problem of drought and subsequent water scarcity. As a result, producers are forced to intervene with a sugary diet to feed bee families, risking significant losses. Honey production is in danger after the 2023 harvest in Italy is estimated at around 15 million kilos, among the poorest of the decade crushed by extreme events resulting from the progressive tropicalization of the climate. Bees play an important part in more than just honey production; three out of every four food crops (75%) rely on bee pollination for yield and quality, including apples, pears, strawberries, cherries, watermelons, and melons. On average, a single bee visits about 7,000 flowers per day, and it takes four million flower explorations to produce one kilogram of honey." The situation of bees in Italy is thus an indicator of the state of the environment, as well as an alarm bell for any critical issues and environmental difficulties. The unseasonal heat, in fact, promotes early waking and even early flowering in all plants, exposing crops to the damage of a predictable, following, severe decrease in temperatures, resulting in crop loss. Added to this is the drought, which jeopardizes the sowing of cereals, legumes, and vegetables, as well as the fodder in pastures, which is rapidly declining.
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