Running away from the water. Like a biblical apocalypse. Five thousand people were displaced in Emilia-Romagna and the Marche. So far 9 dead. Perhaps the number will increase. 14 rivers overflowed. Landslides, floods. Minister Nello Musumeci talks about the “tropicalization of Italy”: “Nothing will be the same again,” he says, according to La Stampa, as quoted by Rador.

The governor of the Emilia-Romagna region, Stefano Bonacini, already on Tuesday emphasized the exceptional nature of the event: “The reality exceeded all expectations.” The climate has changed. Already today, already for this generation, exceeding all our expectations.

On May 16, in 18 hours, the amount of precipitation fell, verified in more than a month. In Cesena, 70 millimeters in one day. The monthly average of May for the last thirty years is 52 mm. In Faenza, 70 mm against the historic 57.

“Tropicalization”, about which the minister spoke, is explained by the average temperature increase in the Mediterranean zone. The Iberian Peninsula, the south of France, Italy, and Greece have found themselves in a “climatic hot spot”: the average temperature of the Mediterranean Sea has increased almost twice as much as the global average.

With higher temperatures and longer periods of drought, water evaporates faster and is released with greater intensity, causing rains that in a few hours dissipate a load that would normally be spread over months.

Water seeping into houses. Cries for help from those who hid on the roofs at night. Scenes that will forever remain in our imagination as they entered the history of meteorology. In fifteen days water attacked twice from the sky. The weather report has acquired the language of a military communique.

Italy is a fragile country from a hydrogeological point of view. A territory that is becoming increasingly fragile due to contempt and lack of respect for the natural balance. It has been built everywhere, and the natural soil is being consumed at an unprecedented rate: 2 square meters per second.

“The dams don’t last. We are not ready for an emergency. It’s not just bad weather, it’s a climate emergency. Climate change is a multiplier. Over the past 150 years, due to the reckless use of oil, gas and coal, the amount of greenhouse gases in the air has increased,” writes La Stampa.

A warmer planet means not only an increase in average temperature, but also direct effects on climate, atmospheric currents and ecosystems. Climate change is intensifying, accelerating, and extreme weather events are becoming more frequent. This is a factor that increases the risk.

There have never been so many extreme events in Italy as in recent years. The Italian record was set in 2022. Over the past 30 years, there have been +83% more extreme events compared to the period 1960-1990. Droughts and heavy rains are two sides of the same coin.

“In the face of disasters of this magnitude, we must be able to manage all aspects. Care of the territory and watercourses, prevention, warning systems, management of green spaces and renaturalization of the territory, the role of climate change.

Scientists have been warning us about the climate apocalypse for years. Now it’s here, and it’s our fault. And he joined many other emergency workers in the area. We must open our eyes. Let’s mitigate the causes and quickly adapt to a less hospitable country and world,” writes La Stampa (Rador)