The high temperatures, 3 C above average, and the heat waves that hit Italy from May to the first two weeks of July were associated with an increase in mortality, especially in the central-southern regions, which are most affected by the intensity and duration of the phenomenon. This is according to the “Summer 2022 Report on Mortality and Accident and Emergency Department Access” issued by the Ministry of Health. In May mortality was 10% higher with increases in Brescia, Rome, Pescara, Bari and Potenza, in June it was 9% higher with increases in Turin (+11%), Rome (+13%), Naples (+15%) ), Bari (+ 23%), Palermo (+19%), Catania (+32%)up to + 21% in July (from 1st to 15th) with increases in deaths notably in Brescia (+31%), Bologna (+22%), Florence (+22%), Rome (+28%), Viterbo (+52%), Latina (+72%), Naples (+27%), Cagliari (+51%), Bari (+56%), Palermo (+34%), Catania (+35%), Catanzaro (+ 48%). There was also an excess of mortality in Turin, although there were no heat waves, only isolated hot days.
The report explains that according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the heat waves observed in the summer of 2022 will be the new normal going forward. The impacts on our country are destined to become more frequent, longer and more intense, according to the latest estimates by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in the latest report, with increasingly significant impacts on the health of exposed populations.
According to the IPCC expert panel, temperatures in the Mediterranean region and in our country will increase faster than in other areas of the world in the coming years; Without action to reduce emissions, global warming could exceed 2°C by mid-century, with simultaneous impacts that will range from increases in extreme temperatures, drought and fires to decreases in snow cover and wind speed, in addition to average sea level rise .
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