The European Commission has greenlit a substantial 447 million-euro allocation from the EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF) to assist Italy in managing the aftermath of severe storms and flooding that plagued the country last year.
This funding, approved on Tuesday, comes as Italy faces its third extended heatwave in three years, compounding existing environmental challenges. The funds are aimed at offsetting recovery and rebuilding costs following a series of devastating weather events.
Insights
Italy has been grappling with a range of climate-related issues, including droughts, floods, wildfires, and landslides, as reported by Xinhua news agency.
This year, the southern regions of Italy are experiencing severe water shortages, while central and southern parts of the country, including urban areas such as Rome, have seen frequent fires.
The Italian farmers’ union Coldiretti has reported significant adverse effects on national agricultural production.
The extreme weather events have been strikingly severe.
Last week, a waterspout, attributed to warming ocean temperatures, sank a 56-meter luxury yacht, resulting in seven fatalities.
Earlier in the month, an Indian flower picker died in Latina, near Rome, due to an intense heatwave, capturing international attention.
As of Tuesday, eight of Italy’s 27 largest cities are under red or orange heat alerts, indicating high health risks due to the soaring temperatures.
By the weekend, forecasts predict that 15 cities may be under similar alerts.
Some regions, particularly islands, are likely to experience temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius, with central Italy peaking around 37 degrees Celsius.
The weather monitoring site has also warned of potential hail in northern areas and has issued storm and flood alerts for central regions.
Despite the current extreme weather, it has not yet matched the severity of the flooding that hit Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany in May and November 2023.
Those events resulted in 25 deaths and over 12 billion euros in damages.
On the same day, the EU also approved EUSF support for Slovenia, Austria, Greece, and France, with Italy receiving the largest share nearly 46% of the total aid allocated to these five countries.
The funding is pending final approval by the European Parliament before distribution to the affected areas.
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