Italy is experiencing multiple types of extreme weather at once, with the north being blasted by fatal storms while the south being burned by sweltering heat.
Italian authorities report that six people have died as a result of harsh weather just on Tuesday.
Intense storms that slammed northern Italy early on Tuesday morning claimed the lives of a mother and a youngster when trees fell on them.
In Sicily’s southern island and the seaside city of Reggio Calabria, flames resulted in the deaths of four elderly people.
After storms caused extensive damage in the area, the fire department in Italy reported that they responded to 400 emergency calls for shattered windows, roof damage, water, and fallen trees.
Tornadoes, powerful winds, and other severe weather have recently wreaked havoc in northern Italy. 100 people were hurt last week when tennis ball-sized hail fell in the Veneto area.
The south is sweating under an extraordinary heat wave as storms affect the north.
On Monday, temperatures in some areas of Sicily reached 47.4 Celsius (117.3 Fahrenheit), coming very close to the continent’s all-time high temperature of 48.8 Celsius, which was established in 2021.
The environment is being prepared for fires by the heat; these fires have already claimed at least one life.
An 88-year-old woman from Sicily perished outside Palermo as one of the four people killed by wildfires, a government spokeswoman told CNN. According to CNN station SkyTG24, the woman, who had major health difficulties, passed away because doctors could not reach her because of the wildfires.
According to the Italian fire service, more than 40 fires broke out across Sicily on Monday night, including one at the Bellolampo landfill that released toxic vapours.
A number of residences in the affected area have been damaged, and more than 1,500 people have been evacuated.
The Falcone Borsellino airport in Palermo was closed for several hours on Tuesday owing to the flames, but it reopened later in the morning and major airline aircraft are now permitted to land and take off with significant delays.
The Palermo airport administration reports that most low-cost planes have been redirected to the airport in Trapani.
According to the Catania airport administration, operation at Sicily’s other main airport has been restricted following a fire in one of the terminals there last week. According to Reuters, Catania has also experienced electricity and water supply interruptions, possibly as a result of the intense heat.
A large fire started in the San Felice harbour in Vieste, forcing the evacuation of 2,000 more guests from three hotels in the Puglia region.
Nello Musumeci, Italy’s minister for civil protection and marine policies, stated on Tuesday that the country is going through extremely challenging circumstances.
“We are currently experiencing one of the most challenging days in recent memory, with storms, tornadoes, and enormous hail in the North and sweltering heat and destructive fires in the Center-South. The firefighters, civil protection managers and volunteers, police forces, forestry workers, and all those who are mobilised in the most difficult circumstances deserve our gratitude, Musumeci said in a message on Twitter. “While we grieve the three victims of these twenty-four hours.
Scientists agree that extreme weather events like heat waves and storms will only increase in frequency and intensity as the human-caused climate catastrophe worsens. According to a research released on Tuesday, the recent heat wave in southern Europe would have been “virtually impossible” without climate change.
Italy is especially vulnerable since it is situated in the Mediterranean, a region that is experiencing rapid climate change.
According to Musumeci, “the climate upheaval that has affected our country imposes a change of pace on all of us.”