Italy among hardest-hit by climate disasters
Extreme weather events linked to the climate crisis caused over 765,000 deaths worldwide between 1993 to 2022, including around 38,000 deaths in Italy, Germanwatch said in its 'Climate Risk Index 2025' report, CE Report quotes ANSA.
The development, environment and human rights organization added that over 9,400 extreme weather events registered worldwide in this period caused direct losses of nearly USD 4.2 trillion (inflation-adjusted).
It said Italy was the fifth-worst-affected country by these climate events in the period in question after Dominica, China, Honduras and Myanmar.
"The country has faced several extreme heat waves, especially in the previous 20 years, causing severe human and economic losses," the report said.
"The years 2003 and 2022 were notable for their exceptionally high numbers of fatalities associated with scorching temperatures and damage from droughts, wildfires, decreased agricultural productivity, infrastructure damage, and the strain on health services and energy grids.
"Heavy flooding, especially along the Po River, caused extensive damage, such as in the 1994 and 2000 Piedmont floods.
"Overall, Italy suffered economic losses of nearly USD 60 billion and more than 38,000 fatalities".
Scientists say the climate crisis caused by human greenhouse gas emissions is making extreme weather events such as heatwaves, droughts, supercharged storms and flooding more frequent and more intense.
Although there are many sources of the greenhouse gases that are causing global heating, the main driver is the burning of fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal, sales of which generate huge profits for the world's energy giants.
