File:Drought in Sicily (MODIS 2024-07-12).jpg

English: July 10, 2024 July 16, 2023

Sicily has been suffering a severe drought in 2024, thanks to lack of rain and soaring temperatures.

The drought has been so impactful that the government declared a state of emergency in February. It also implemented water restrictions at that time. According to a July 6 article by CNN, rationing is in place for more than 1 million people, and water consumption has been reduced in some areas by 45 percent.

The drought has not only dried up taps for large portions of the population for substantial hours each day, it has also driven away tourists in areas that rely on tourism for economic well-being. In addition, Many agricultural fields have dried up, placing pressure on livestock and crops.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra satellite acquired two false-color images of Sicily that, taken together, illustrate the impact of the 2024 drought. The first image was acquired on July 10, 2024, when the island was suffering severe drought. The second, which can be accessed by clicking on the date, was acquired on July 16, 2023. At that time, conditions were dry but conditions had not deteriorated to severe drought.

In this type of false-color image, vegetation looks bright green while land with no, sparse, or very dry vegetation appears in tan tones. Water is blue while clouds usually look white, except cold, high clouds that contain ice, which may be tinted with electric blue.