ROME. floods who destroyed the settlements in Northern Italy and killed at least 14 people are another example extreme weather events caused changing of the climate, and this phenomenon is currently being recorded worldwide, even in temperate Southern Europe. The coastal areas of Emilia-Romagna were hit hard twice, the first time due to heavy rains two weeks ago in the soil, which, due to a prolonged drought, could not absorb them, which led to the flooding of the rivers. Torrential rains this week ended the catastrophe, with property damage in excess of 3 billion euros.

Climate change has meant that while rainfall has increased, it rains for a shorter period of time and is of little benefit to agriculture and can cause significant damage.

The Emilia-Romagna region was particularly vulnerable. Its geographic location between the Apennine Mountains and the Adriatic Sea has been a trap for a devastating weather front that has poured out half the annual rainfall in 36 hours this week.

“These phenomena were constant, but they are characterized as rare,” said Fabrizio Curzio, head of the region’s civil protection. Authorities said 43 communities were affected by flooding and landslides, with more than 500 roads closed to traffic.

Antonello Pazzini, a climatologist at Italy’s National Research Center, says the phenomena appear to be following the meteorological trend. “An increase in the total annual rainfall while reducing the number of rainy days and increasing the intensity of precipitation in these few days,” says Pazzini.

Northern Italy has been suffering from drought for two years now, partly due to limited snowfall during the winter months. Snowmelt in the Alps, Dolomites and Apennines usually protected the region’s lakes from water shortages and fed the critically important Po and its tributaries.

However, a decrease in the number of snowfalls leads to a decrease in water reserves, and even when it rains, the soil becomes impermeable, and the rain carries away the upper layers of the soil, leading them to the sea. Civil Protection Minister Nello Musumeci said “the new normal of climate change in the Mediterranean means that Italians must adapt and rethink their flood policy.” The minister cited Venice as a role model with the construction of the ambitious MOSE dam project, which protects the historic city from the extreme flooding phenomenon known as “acqua alta”.

“We cannot pretend that nothing is happening. Everything has to change: planning, hydraulic infrastructure and water pumping capabilities, as well as the whole philosophy of these projects,” Musumechi said. The “key” to overcoming the effects of climate change is prevention, the Italian minister said, admitting, however, that his compatriots are not known for their ability to plan and prevent.

In 2021, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change published a report by scientists from around the world, according to which the increase in the number and intensity of extreme weather events is associated with human and industrial activities.