Ever darker and more arid . The Island seen from the satellite looks like a sun-scorched copy of what it was twenty years ago : the forests have shrunk and the dominant color in the plains, from Campidano to the Oristano lands, is now brown. Drought and plant parasites have changed the overall visual impact of the region: the deep and brilliant green of 2004 has gradually faded, until it has reached a color more tending towards yellow, which in certain areas almost veers towards copper.

The comparison between the images of Google Earth confirms the dramatic situation of the Sardinian forests. That "serious phenomenon of desiccation and deterioration" that "is assuming worrying dimensions", as can be read in the first lines of the resolution of the Council approved a few days ago to plan the resources with which to face the emergency. Among the dangers that threaten the forests is the " Phytophthora cinnamomi ", a "killer fungus" that ruins the roots and kills the plants in a short time, whose diffusion is increasingly worrying.

But the Island is also struggling with drought , despite the August storms having brought some benefits. But apart from the relief for the parched land, very little water has reached the reservoirs. While waiting for the latest monthly bulletin from the Hydrographic District on Sardinia's water supplies, an idea can be gleaned from the report by Enas (the body that governs twenty-eight of the forty water infrastructures on the Island, the others are owned by Enel and some, like Olai and Govossai, by Abbanoa) which on 29 August recorded a total of 642 million cubic meters of water, with a filling level of 44%, much less than half the capacity.

Further details and insights in the articles by Michele Ruffi and Piera Serusi in the newspaper on newsstands and on the L'Unione digital app.

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