Unexploded World War II bomb discovered after river dries

• 450kg (1,000lb) bomb found on the banks of the polluted River Po in Italy.
• Large portions of the 650km (400 mile) river have dried up.
• Last month, Italian authorities declared a state of emergency in the Po Valley.

Due to an unprecedented drought, an unexploded World War II bomb discovered in an Italian river has been disclosed.

Fishermen discovered the 450kg (1,000lb) bomb on the banks of the polluted River Po.

In Italy’s worst drought in 70 years, large portions of the 650km (400 mile) river have dried up.

Water shortages in northern Italy have been exacerbated by unusually hot weather and low rainfall levels, raising concerns about the consequences of climate change.

“The bomb was found by fishermen on the bank of the Po river,” army official Colonel Marco Nasi told Reuters news agency.

The unexploded weapon, which had 240kg (530lb) of dynamite, was found near the Lombardy town of Borgo Virgilio in July, according to Italian military sources.

Approximately 3,000 neighbouring homes were allegedly evacuated so that bomb disposal specialists could conduct a controlled explosion safely on Sunday.

“At first, some of the inhabitants said they would not move, but in the last few days we think we have persuaded everyone,” local mayor Francesco Apori said.

The area’s airspace was also briefly shut down, as was river traffic on the canal itself.

The Po is Italy’s longest river, stretching from the south-western Alps to the Adriatic Sea – but this year’s annual satellite photographs reveal widening stretches of dried-up riverbed due to significant drought.

Last month, Italian authorities declared a state of emergency in the Po Valley, which irrigates about one-third of the country’s agricultural output.

Its current has become so feeble in recent months owing to heat and a lack of rainfall that farmers in the Po Valley report salty saltwater is already seeping into the river and killing crops.

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