The Italian navy tanker "Ticino" left Augusta on Sicily's southeastern coast on Thursday evening carrying 1,200 cubic metres (42,400 cubic feet) of water bound for the parched southwest, local authorities said.

It arrived at the port of Licata on Friday afternoon with the aim of releasing the water into the network in Agrigento, home to the famous Valley of the Temples, a process that will take 25-30 hours.

"We are working hard to implement every initiative necessary to alleviate the effects of the drought that is affecting Sicily and many other Mediterranean areas," said the president of the Sicily region, Renato Schifani.

But he said the issue required more efforts to address years of "structural problems" in the Sicilian water network.

Sicily, which set a European heat record in 2021 at 48.8 degrees Celsius (119.8 Fahrenheit), declared a drought emergency at the beginning of February, after a winter without rain.

The situation is becoming increasingly critical, particularly for farmers.

Across the Strait of Messina, the southern Italian region of Calabria declared a state of emergency Friday following "a serious shortage of drinkable water" around the city of Reggio Calabria and the province of Crotone.

Civil protection authorities will now assess which "urgent interventions" are required to help local residents, a statement said.

Drought has struck across the Western Mediterranean, with severe impacts on northern Africa and parts of Spain.

Experts say climate change driven by human activity is boosting the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events, such as heatwaves and droughts but also heavy rain.