This summer has been hot for everyone involved.
Italian farmers are now installing showers and air conditioners in cowsheds and pigsties to allow the animals to get some relief from the summer heat, according to Reuters.
Farm animals in Italy are reportedly under stress as the mercury approaches 40 degrees Celsius, especially in the agricultural heartland around the Po river.
“The situation is worrying, particularly in the Po Valley which has the highest concentration of barns that have been kitted out with fans, small showers and air conditioners to cool down cows and pigs,” farming group Coldiretti stated.
Coldiretti reportedly stated that conditions were set to get worse with the arrival of an anticyclone weather phenomenon known as “Charon,” which is named after the ferryman of Greek mythology who steered the deceased across the river separating the worlds of the living and the dead.
The temperature has been so high that along with handing out free water to visitors at various tourist attractions, bears, orangutans and other animals at Rome’s zoo have reportedly been given ice lollipops made up frozen fruit and vegetables.
Due to the heat, cows in Italy have reportedly produced 50 million liters less milk than usual in the first two weeks of July. Chickens have also reportedly laid between five and 10 percent fewer eggs, according to the group.
The high temperatures are expected to last at least until July 23, according to the U.K. publication The Telegraph.
“It’s an exceptional weather event in terms of duration and intensity,” stated Edoardo Ferrara, a meteorologist.
