“The month of July [has seen] hailstorms, tornadoes, ‘water bombs’, heatwaves and gales, virtually double (up 82 per cent on the same period last year according to the data of the European Severe Weather Database)”, they said.
The northern storms and southern wildfires killed at least seven people this month.
Italy is currently split in three, with hailstorms causing more damage in the ravaged north, more acceptable temperatures in the centre, and greater heat in the south where temperatures are hitting 38 degrees Celsius after being as far up as 48 in the recent heatwaves.
Climatologist Luca Mercalli, president of the Italian Meteorological Society (SMI), said that the weather was gradually returning to normal for the period.
However, he stressed that while temperatures are coming back down to normal levels, there will still be storms in the north, albeit briefer than the recent violent thunderstorms.
In the first seven days of August, he said, temperature highs will hover between 31 and 33 degrees in the north, where “there will actually be some cool days”, while in the south the mercury will stay slightly below 40 degrees.
The recent wave of extreme weather has seen officials issue repeated warnings on the climate crisis.
President Sergio Mattarella has urged “targeted” prevention on the climate crisis, after Italy this week battled the deadly and destructive fires in the south and equally fatal storms in the north which collectively left at least seven people dead and caused untold devastation of property, infrastructure and crops.
In just the latest in a string of warnings on the climate crisis, Mattarella said in a message to a Sardinian mayor on the 40th anniversary of a wildfire that killed nine people, that “the environment and nature are a precious resource, to be protected with rigour, through a constant commitment to care for the territory and targeted prevention actions.”
Pope Francis also renewed his call for action to address the climate crisis in the face of extreme weather events such as heatwaves and flash floods caused by torrential rain.
“These atmospheric events highlight the need to make courageous and far-sighted efforts to face the challenge of climate change and responsibly protect Creation, taking care of our common home,” the Pope said.
ANSA
