The wave of storms that Italy is currently facing has taken the number of extreme-weather events the country has endured this summer up to 1642.
According to farmers association Coldiretti, this is five times the figures recorded a decade ago.
On Thursday, the association released these figures on the basis of data from the European Severe Weather Database (ESWD) which records events such as tornadoes, extremely heavy rain, hail and damaging lightning strikes.
“The long, hot summer, characterised by drought, was interrupted several times by violent rainfall,” Coldiretti said.
“The multiplication of extreme weather has caused over six billion euro of damage to agriculture in 2022, 10 per cent of our national production’s value.
“We’re witnessing the clear consequences of climate change, where exceptional weather events are now the norm in Italy too. More frequent damage, seasonal shifts, short, intense precipitations, the quick turn from sunshine to bad weather, etc.
“These significant changes in temperature compromise crops, halting production and damaging infrastructure in our countryside."
This current wave of storms is primarily affecting regions in central and northern Italy - Tuscany, Umbria, Abruzzo, Friuli, Venezia, Giulia, Lazio, Liguria, Lombardy, Marche and Molise.
As a result, parks and public gardens were closed in Florence and schools were shut in some parts of the country on Thursday.
