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Milan, Italy
Extreme weather continued to batter Italy, on Tuesday (July 25), as Palermo airport was forced to shut down for hours due to wildfires, while over a dozen cities across the country were placed on red alert because of the high temperatures. Meanwhile, in northern Italy, two people were killed after an overnight storm.
Watch: Wildfires force closure of Palermo airport
The Palermo airport was closed for hours due to wildfires, however, the airport operator, shortly after 0900 GMT took to X (formerly Twitter) and announced that only a limited number of outbound flights would be allowed “for the moment”. It was later announced that a plane from northern Italy’s Turnin was able to land, reported Reuters.
The wildfires in Sicily continued to rage across the region on Tuesday amid high temperatures. The airport was closed after firefighters struggled to put out the major blaze in the nearby area which has since also disrupted local road and rail traffic.
Wildfires have forced the closure of #Palermo airport in #Sicily as extreme weather continues to batter Italy, with severe storms causing major damage and resulting in at least two deaths in the north. The airport looks to remain closed until this evening. #Sicilia #Milano pic.twitter.com/hULrjz8a1V
— Our World (@MeetOurWorld) July 25, 2023
The regional authorities also reported the death of a woman after an ambulance could not reach her house due to wildfire-related disruptions. The closure of the airport also further exacerbated Sicily’s travel while the region is in the midst of a peak tourist season.
Furthermore, the island’s main airport of Catania, also the country’s fifth-biggest, was closed after a fire in a terminal building but later reopened for a few flights. Wildfires also raged across various parts of Calabria, the southernmost part of the Italian mainland.
Palermo and Catania were also placed on red alert by Italian authorities due to soaring temperatures and witnessed power and water supply cuts. The temperature in parts of eastern Sicily rose to 47 degree Celsius, said Sicily’s civil protection agency.
This comes as the region recorded the highest temperature in Europe, two years ago, at 48.8 degree Celsius.
Storm in northern Italy
In an overnight storm in Italy’s financial capital, Milan, roofs were torn off, and trees were uprooted causing road blockages and disrupted overground transportation, reported Reuters. Milan residents reported torrential rain and hail on Tuesday morning which have also flooded parts of the city.
“I have been through 65 summers in my lifetime...and what I am seeing now is not normal, we can no longer deny it, climate change is changing our lives,” said Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala.
The two “tragic” deaths due to bad weather in northern Italy’s Lissone and near Brescia were confirmed by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, on Tuesday.
Among those killed was a 16-year-old girl who was on a camping trip near Brescia when a tree fell on her tent overnight due to high winds and torrential rain, on Tuesday. On Monday, a middle-aged woman died after also being hit by a falling tree in Lissone.
(With inputs from agencies)
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