Extreme weather to cost Italian farmers $6.5 bn: Report

ROME: Intense heatwaves and extreme weather that gripped Italy for most part of this year will cost farmers at least 6 billion euros ($6.5 billion), according to estimates from the country's main agricultural union.

Coldiretti said that 2023 has so far been "a black year" for the agricultural sector, reports Xinhua news agency.

In its report published on Friday, the group said that Italy had experienced an average of nearly 11 extreme weather events per day so far this year, including hailstorms, tornadoes, flash floods and windstorms in addition to long and intense series of heat waves.

This year in Italy is already the third hottest on record, the report said, with average temperatures 0.67 degrees Celsius above historic norms, with the average temperature even further above the norm (0.86 degrees Celsius).

The series of heatwaves in Italy this year have meant record-high temperatures were registered in many cities.

This July was the hottest one on record with temperatures 1.96 degrees Celsius above the norm.

But overall average temperatures for the year so far have been lower than in 2022, the hottest year on record.

Coldiretti noted that the seven hottest years recorded in Italy have all taken place since 2014.

Its temperature data dates back to 1800.

The reasons behind weather damage to the agriculture sector goes beyond high temperatures: It estimated that at least a sixth of the total damage -- more than 1 billion euros -- was caused by dramatic rainfall and flooding that punished the central Italian region of Emilia Romagna. The downpour also left at least 15 people dead.

Much of the damage to agriculture sector has come from the unpredictability of the weather, according to Coldiretti.

"2023 was marked first by a severe drought that compromised crops in the field and then for a few months by the multiplication of severe weather events -- abundant rainfall and low temperatures followed by the torrid heat of July," it said, also mentioning wildfires that ignited large parts of the Italian island regions of Sicily and Sardinia.

The group said wheat production was down by 10 per cent, wine grapes by 14 per cent, pears by 63 perc ent, and honey by 70 per cent.

The report comes amid forecasts that another heatwave is set to arrive in central and southern Italy before August 21.

According to weather forecasts, temperatures in those areas are set to rise by 3 to 4 degrees Celsius compared to last week.

Highs in the coming days are expected to top 40 degrees Celsius in many parts of central and southern Italy.

By Sunday, eight of Italy's 27 largest cities will be under "red alert" for heat (the highest level) with nine more under "orange alert" (the second highest level).

None of the cities on the list are predicted to have "normal" levels of heat.

The Coldiretti report is based on its own analysis, using data from the European Severe Weather Database.