SUVA warns: water stress weakens trees, complicates timber harvesting and increases the risk of accidents

There are topics, or even individual terms, that have increasingly ended up filling both our daily conversations and institutional discussions. This has happened, for example, with geopolitics and overtourism, if we think about it, and it happens every summer with drought, now the protagonist, not surprisingly, of several dystopian films of the last decade, including the film of the same name directed by Paolo Virzì in 2022.

And, in fact, reality is proving once again that it can surpass fiction, with a summer of 2026 grappling with an unprecedented water emergencyIn Italy, persistent heat and lack of rainfall have drastically reduced the flow of the Po River and the reserves of the large pre-Alpine lakes, while in the Po Delta, the sea is rising along the river, compromising withdrawals for irrigation. The general water shortage, as is easy to imagine, has significant repercussions on crops, livestock, and various local communities. According to estimates by Cia-Agricoltori Italiani, the heat of 2026 risks costing the primary sector over 1,5 billion euros.

The drought, as if that were not enough, It also complicates working conditions and not just due to the mere lack of water. As highlighted by the SUVA (Swiss National Accident Insurance Fund), prolonged water stress in forests increases the risk of branches or entire treetops breaking without warning and falling on people. For forestry companies, this makes work even more unpredictable and dangerous than usual.

The forest as a workplace: the risks of an inherently unpredictable environment

The forest, by its very nature and definition, is certainly not an environment conducive to collaboration. Steep and uneven terrain, poor visibility, variable weather conditions, and moving branches add to the need for chainsaws and other heavy machinery. In short, it doesn't take much. why an ordinary operation turns into a critical situation, especially during tree felling.

To remind us of this, once again, is the SUVA: Approximately 1.700 accidents occur in Swiss forestry companies every year, and over the past decade, more than 30 have resulted in fatalities. The risk is significantly higher than the average for insured companies and even affects those still in training (nearly one in two apprentices is injured during their apprenticeship).

The Italian picture, on the other hand, is no more reassuring. An analysis by the Piedmont Region based on INAIL data recorded 2.989 accidents among specialized forestry workers between 2016 and 2020, 32 of which were fatal. Falling branches or other objects from above are the most common accident among professionals, while chainsaws cause the highest number of machinery-related incidents; tractors, on the other hand, are associated with the highest percentage of fatalities.

In recent years, an activity which is already complex by definition has been added to this: the further unpredictable component of drought, capable of altering the stability of trees and making even the danger signs in the forest less legible.

When even a seemingly healthy tree turns into a danger

Drought makes the forest more treacherous for both those who work there and those who walk or cycle through it. The main problem, in fact, is that water stress it does not always leave immediately recognizable tracesA plant, in other words, can maintain a healthy appearance and, at the same time, have branches or portions of its crown that are now fragile, ready to break without obvious warning signs. Consequently, identifying the danger becomes much more difficult.

For forestry companies, this unpredictability requires even more careful planning of each intervention. SUVA, for example, recommends preventively assessing the condition of the trees and the surrounding area, keeping operators as far away from the fall zone as possible. When terrain conditions allow, it is preferable to resort to highly mechanized procedures or toremote killing, a technique that allows you to work without stopping in the immediate vicinity of the affected plant.

"The drought significantly alters the risk profile in the forest, even for the most experienced operators. Anyone working among the trees at this time must be aware of this exceptional situation and take additional risks into account."

confirmation Urs Limacher, team leader Foresta at SUVA.

As mentioned above, however, the call for caution applies to everyone, both those working in the industry and those who frequent these environments in their free time. The latter, to date, are advised to cross them with caution. increased awarenessThis means learning to observe any dead or leaning branches, avoiding prolonged stops under large trees, and paying attention to weather conditions. In any case, in the presence of strong winds or thunderstorms, the safest option is always to stay away from the woods.

How the effects of the water crisis affect the entire wood supply chain

Water shortages, therefore, are "only" the most obvious manifestation of drought. The effects of water deficits in fact they spread throughout the entire forest systemThey reduce tree growth, compromise their stability and regeneration capacity, favor parasites and pathogens, and alter the timing, methods, and safety of silvicultural operations. In addition to the increased likelihood of sudden collapse, already discussed, there are also less immediate consequences for harvesting and future timber availability.

Damaged trees may therefore require early felling, resulting in large quantities of damaged, lower-quality timber in the short term. At the same time, slower growth and the difficulty of renewing the forest reduce the availability that can be planned for subsequent years. This alters the overall balance between harvesting, regrowth and industrial transformation.

For this reason, the increasing frequency of droughts imposes rethinking the entire forest cycle, from the choice of species to the planning of cuttings, up to the use of recovered material and the supply chain's ability to absorb sudden changes in the quantity and quality of supplies.

The increasingly tight knot between water deficit and the spread of fires

Almost superfluous, but necessary, to remember another consequence of the lack of water: the firesDrought, while not directly igniting flames, which are often caused by human action, reduces the humidity of living and dead vegetation, making the combustible material more flammable and favoring rapid and intense spread. An international study published in Scientific Reports, dedicated to Mediterranean Europe, has identified the duration and intensity of dry periods as one of the main factors capable of explaining the extent of summer fires.

Italy, once again, offers a sad demonstration of this that is anything but theoretical. According to data from theEuropean Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) of Copernicus, in 2026 the fires mapped by the system affected a total of 84.499 hectares, against an annual average of around 57.200 hectares in the period 2006-2025. The fires thus add an additional level of risk for forestry workers and emergency teams, while compromising the stability of the stand, regeneration, the quality of the timber and the continuity of production activities.

What to do when the exception threatens to become the new rule?

Treating these conditions as temporary anomalies may soon no longer be sufficient. A study published in Communications Earth & Environment It estimates that, as early as the 1930s, Europe could experience levels of heat and drought that until twenty years ago would have been considered typical of the end of the century. Over the next 25 years, the probability of two consecutive years marked by extreme rainfall deficits could nearly triple, approaching 15 percent; between 2050 and 2074, even continent-wide droughts lasting five consecutive years would become plausible.

The point, it goes without saying, is now integrating climate risk into ordinary forest managementSpecies selection, monitoring, culling techniques, training, and supply chain organization will necessarily have to be rethought based on less stable conditions than in the past. Thus, if unpredictability cannot be eliminated, it can at least stop catching people off guard.

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