Heatwave hailstorm injures 110 in Italy

Hailstones as large as lemons caused significant damage to cars, homes and crops

A fruit farmer with damaged kiwi tree leaves after a hailstorm devastated his fruit harvest in Forli, northern Italy. Reuters

A wave of severe weather, accompanied by an intense hailstorm, hit north-east Italy on Wednesday evening, causing widespread damage and injuries.

The Veneto region was particularly hard hit, with 110 people hurt by the hailstones, broken glass and falls.

The region's president, Luca Zaia, praised the immediate response from rescuers and workers trying to restore services and assess the damage.

Mantova province was battered, with hailstones as large as lemons causing significant damage to parked cars and buildings, including roof tiles and roof-mounted solar panels.

Most of the damage occurred in Mantova and the municipalities of Curtatone and San Giorgio Bigarello.

Fields of crops, particularly fruit trees, were devastated.

The storm began shortly after 11pm and became less severe as it moved south.

Numerous vehicles were damaged by the hail, with windshields shattered. High winds also led to the fall of several trees in the area of Castel d'Ario in Mantua.

The fire brigade received numerous calls for assistance, but no further injuries have been reported so far.

Italian hospitals in the regions worst hit by soaring temperatures are seeing a jump in heat-related emergencies, medics said on Wednesday.

According to Coldiretti, a leading Italian farmers' organisation, no province was spared from the wrath of the severe weather on Wednesday.

It resulted in widespread destruction across open fields, vegetable crops, orchards, vineyards, and even greenhouses and agricultural structures. The storm also led to the closure of exhibitions and fairs.

Technicians are still assessing the damage and losses, but it is clear the severe weather has had a significant impact.

Temperatures remain abnormally high across much of the country, days after record highs were recorded in a number of cities, including the capital Rome, which reached 41.8°C.

Highs in Sicily reached 46°C and parts of Sardinia recorded 47°C.

The Lazio region, where Rome is located, saw a 20 per cent increase in medical emergencies on Wednesday compared to the same day last year due to the heat, including an upsurge in respiratory and heart ailments, a senior official said.

"What we are also noticing, linked to the heat, is an increase in admissions for psychiatric pathologies, even suicidal tendencies," said Giulio Maria Ricciuto, head of the Italian Society of Emergency Medicine in Lazio.

Italian farmer's struggle against climate change

Andrea Ferrini, from the Emilia-Romagna region in Italy, exemplifies the hardships confronting Italian farmers.

The 52-year-old's crops of kiwi, peaches, grapes and corn have been battered by an array of adverse weather this year, including severe frost, torrential rains, record heatwaves, and damaging hailstorms.

Due to these weather extremes, Mr Ferrini, who typically harvests around 1,000 quintals (100,000kg) of fruit and grapes, projects a sharp drop in his yield to a mere 200-300 quintals this year.

The floods in May were particularly damaging, submerging more than 5,000 farms in the region, a significant contributor to Italy's fruit harvest.

Following this, a record heatwave put immense stress on the recovering plants, and a final blow came in the form of a severe hailstorm.

These increasingly frequent extreme weather events, Mr Ferrini suggests, are clear indicators of a climate in crisis.

He plans to adapt to this new reality by developing more resilient crops and new water management techniques, a challenging but necessary endeavour.