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STORM

‘Tropical hurricane’ Katia batters Sweden

Parts of Sweden were left reeling on Tuesday in the wake of torrential rains and gusty winds accompanying the remnants of hurricane Katia as it made its way across the country.

'Tropical hurricane' Katia batters Sweden

Rail traffic in western Sweden was delayed on Tuesday, with several trains brought to a standstill after several trees were blown down over the tracks, according to the Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket).

Winds from the storm were so strong that they blew a car off a road and into the ditch near Tjörn on Sweden’s west coast.

“It’s really blowing here and there is an open field so he may have been surprised by the sudden gusts,” Jörgen Simonsson of the Tjörn emergency services told the Aftonbladet newspaper.

The young driver of the car was taken to hospital with minor injuries.

Katia, which was previously classified as a hurricane before heading across the Atlantic, is expected to move north across Sweden on Tuesday night.

Several hundred households had lost power by Tuesday, a number of bridges on Sweden’s west coast were closed due to high winds, and several areas reported minor flooding in Katia’s wake.

Around lunchtime on Tuesday, the town of Såtenäs on the south coast of Lake Vänern in central Sweden was measuring wind gusts of up to 60 kilometres/hour.

However, there remains a risk that winds could get even stronger, according to Swedish meterological agency SMHI.

“They’re going to increase, with the strongest winds likely to come during the afternoon or evening,” SMHI meterologist Lovisa Andersson told the TT news agency.

According to the local Bohusläningen newspaper, the Bohusbanan train line in western Sweden has been blocked due to down trees. In addition, a number of other routes have been canceled.

Motorists have also been warned against driving large vehicles like campers and trucks that may be sensitive to gusty winds over the Öresund Bridge, which connects Sweden to Denmark in the south.

Early on Tuesday, a man escaped with minor injuries after strong winds from Katia’s remnants blew a tree down over the car he was driving between Gislaved and Anderstorp in Småland in south central Sweden.

The car, however, suffered major damage and needed to be towed from the site.

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CLIMATE

Climate crisis: The Italian cities worst affected by flooding and heatwaves

The climate crisis is causing serious problems for Italy's biggest cities and extreme weather events are going to become more frequent, according to a new report.

Climate crisis: The Italian cities worst affected by flooding and heatwaves
A file photo from November 12th, 2019 shows flooding during an exceptionally high 'acqua alta' in Venice.Photo: Marco Bertorello/AFP

Anyone who was in Italy throughout this year’s long, hot summer may suspect that heatwaves are becoming a more frequent occurrence.

And residents of the lagoon city of Venice will no doubt be able to attest to the devastating impact of serious floods, as well as to the fact that such events appear to be becoming increasingly frequent.

In fact, a new study by the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change (CMCC) has confirmed that the incidence rate of both heatwaves and floods in Italy has increased significantly – and is only expected to keep rising.

READ ALSO: From Venice to Mont Blanc, how is the climate crisis affecting Italy?

The report stated that average temperatures have risen overall in the last 30 years and continue to rise in all cities.

“Risks associated with climate change affect all Italian regions and their economic sectors,” the study’s authors stated. “Despite contrasts, with different areas being affected in different ways, there are no regions that can be considered immune from climate risks.”

The report found that the southern city of Naples had experienced the biggest increase in the frequency and severity of heatwaves.

Heatwaves fuelled the most destructive fire season to date in Italy this summer Photo: Nicolas TUCAT/AFP

The southern city has in recent years reported an average of 50 more intensely hot days per year than it did at the beginning of the century.

The same figure for Milan was +30 days, Turin +29 and Rome +28. 

Although extreme weather events have always existed and Italy is no stranger to intense heat, numerous studies have found that the climate crisis is making heatwaves more frequent and more dangerous.

Meanwhile, in Venice, over the last 150 years the relative water level of the city has risen by more than 30 centimeters, and the critical threshold has been exceeded 40 times in the last 10 years, the CMCC found..

The report also warned that the city of Bologna could expect to see an increase in the intensity and frequency of flooding in the future.

READ ALSO: Floods in Italy: What to do when there’s a weather warning

It added that “all scenarios” showed an increased risk of heatwaves and urban flooding in the coming years.

In 2019, Rome was found to be the city in Europe most at risk of flooding, according to water monitoring authorities.

“There are parts of Rome that can’t withstand a heavy downpour,” said the Central Apennines District Basin Authority.

Rome’s soft soil and famous hills make it naturally vulnerable to erosion and mudslides, while the authority said poorly maintained sewers, waste dumping and vegetation blocking the course of the Tiber and Aniene rivers were contributing to the flood risk.

Previous studies have also found that Rome suffered the highest number of extreme weather events overall in recent years.

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