ROME - the Italian government on Monday considered whether to declare a state of emergency in the drought-stricken north of the country as other parts of Europe continued to swelter and watch the skies for rain.

Throughout Europe, record temperatures in June have so far not been matched in July, although temperatures are gradually creeping back up and may yet threaten this year's wine harvest, weather services and industry officials said.

Governors in the Piedmont and Emilia-Romagna regions -- Italy's industrial and agricultural heartland -- have already asked for state help and their counterparts in the nearby Lombardy and Venice regions were planning to do the same.

Water supplies are guaranteed until the end of the month; but if it doesn't rain we'll have to decide what our priorities are -- agriculture or industry

Italy's civil protection chief, Guido Bertolaso warned Sunday.

Italians in the affected areas have been asked to reduce consumption of water and electricity. The Po river, which drains most of northern Italy, fell to a record 7.58 metres (24 feet) below its normal level at the weekend. The region accounts for some 35 percent of Italy's agricultural production.

The river normally carries up to 1,200 cubic meters of water a second but has been seen to swell up to 3,000 cubic meters. On Sunday it carried no more than 350 cubic meters of water a second.

Ostiglia power station, also in northern Italy, has been forced to shut down due to a lack of water to cool its turbines. The bishop of the northern Italian town of Rovigo, Andrea Bruno Mazzocato, has called on the faithful to pray for rain, and on Sunday night it rained -- with Rovigo getting above the average rainfall for the district, though still not enough to provide real relief.

In the Venice area, which is among the worst hit by the drought, rainfalls amounted to 40 percent less in the first six months of 2003 than the average rain recorded in the same period over the last 30 years.

Copyright 2003 - AFP & WeatherOnline Ltd