There have been 378 extreme climate events in Italy in 2023, a 22% increase over 2022, environmental watchdog Legambiente said on Thursday.
Extreme heat or bad weather have led to the death of 31 people and caused billions of euro in damage to property, infrastructure and crops.
Northern Italy, with 210 extreme weather events, was the area worst affected, followed by the Centre (98) and the South (70), according to Legambiente's Climate City Observatory. Floods and river overflows increased by 170% compared to 2022, record temperatures in urban areas rose by 150%, landslides caused by heavy rainfall grew by 64%, sea storms rose by 44% and hail damage increased by 34.5%, the environmental organisation said.
In the Alps, the freezing point has risen to 5,328 metres above sea level and glaciers are retreating.
2023 is to be remembered in particular for the flooding and landslide emergency in Emilia Romagna caused by two separate bouts of extreme bad weather in May and for successive summer heatwaves in the south and simultaneous extreme bad weather in the north.
However, Legambiente has recorded in total 118 cases of flooding caused by heavy rain, 82 cases of damage caused by whirlwinds and gusts of wind, 39 cases of damage caused by hailstorms, 35 cases of river flooding causing damage, 26 cases of damage caused by sea storms, 21 cases of damage caused by prolonged drought, 20 cases of extreme temperatures in cities, 18 cases of landslides caused by heavy rainfall, 16 events involving damage to infrastructure and 3 events involving damage to historical heritage.
At regional level, the association said Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna have been most impacted by the negative effects of climate change with, respectively, 62 and 59 events causing damage, followed by Tuscany with 44, Lazio with 30, Piedmont with 27, Veneto with 24 and Sicily with 21.
At city level, Rome, Milan, Fiumicino, Palermo and Prato have reportedly borne the brunt of the bad weather.
"Extreme weather events are increasing in frequency and intensity, and it is the territories and citizens who are paying the price," said Legambiente President Stefano Ciafani, calling on the government of Premier Giorgia Meloni to "approve immediately the National Climate Adaptation Plan" and "also allocate the relevant economic resources, which instead we continue to spend on post-disaster interventions, as demonstrated by the 11 billion euro spent just in response to the damage caused by the two floods in Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany".
"The risk is that without the Plan and adequate (resource) allocation for prevention, which are also absent from the Budget Law that is about to be approved, Italy will continue to chase after emergencies," said Ciafani.
"The government should instead make a much greater commitment, focusing on prevention, climate adaptation policies and awareness campaigns on living with risk, to transform our country from being the most exposed at the centre of the Mediterranean to being an example for others," he concluded.
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