Sicily is grappling with intense heat and record-breaking temperatures, leading to electricity and water shutdowns in Catania as the systems struggle to cope, Euronews has reported.
According to the local civil defense service, temperatures as high as 47.6°C were recorded in Catania on July 24.
Due to the extreme heat, hundreds of thousands of people in Catania have been left without electricity and water, prompting a crisis meeting. Mayor Enrico Traniti stated that Catania has been facing difficulties for about a week.
Italy's Minister of Civil Defense, Nello Musumeci, pointed out that the situation is a consequence of climate change, which authorities should have addressed earlier, along with inadequate infrastructure to handle the new conditions.
Since July 20, up to 500,000 people in Catania have experienced intermittent power outages. E-distribuzione, responsible for electricity distribution and a subsidiary of the Italian giant Enel, explained that the asphalt temperature has been approaching 50°C for several weeks, leading to damage to laid cables due to poor heat dissipation caused by high humidity.
In addition, some households have lost water supply due to the electricity cuts, affecting around 200-300,000 people. E-distribuzione has deployed hundreds of technical specialists and dozens of generators to address the situation. Local authorities provided air conditioners to elderly, vulnerable, and homeless individuals while requesting the public to use them moderately to avoid worsening the problems.
Earlier, Sicilian firefighters fought several wildfires, including one near Palermo airport, which resulted in the airport's closure for several hours on Tuesday morning, and also impacted the railway transport system.
IA Daryo has reported that more than 61,000 people lost their lives due to the heatwave in Europe during the summer of 2022.
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