Extreme weather conditions including storms and heatwaves hit the country on Tuesday, forcing authorities to halt operations and close Palermo airport in Sicily, killing at least two people in the country, as well as sparking large wildfires in nearby areas, according to reports. reuters,
The airport operator wrote on Twitter that the airport in the capital, Sicily, would remain closed until 0900 GMT as firefighters battled fires in nearby areas, which also affected local transport and rail services.
Severe conditions and incidents have added to the plight of travel to Italy as this tourist season reaches its peak.
The main airport on the island of Catania, Italy’s fifth-largest, was closed last week after a fire broke out in a terminal building and has only reopened for some flights.
A heat wave is sweeping southern Europe, raising the risk of fires and deaths due to extreme temperatures.
Temperatures soared to 47.6 Celsius (117.7 Fahrenheit) on Monday in parts of eastern Sicily, close to the record European high of 48.8 Celsius recorded on the island two years ago.
Italy put 16 cities on red alert on Tuesday because of the extreme heat. These include Palermo and Catania, where power and water supply cuts, which local officials blame in part on the heat, have been frequent in recent days.
Meanwhile, in Milan, an overnight storm toppled roofs and uprooted trees, blocked roads and disrupted underground transport in Italy’s financial capital.
Two women were crushed to death by falling trees on Monday and Tuesday in the northern Monza and Brescia provinces.
On Monday, a Delta flight to New York that took off from Milan’s Malpensa airport was severely damaged by hail and was forced to land in Rome.
Italy is one of the European countries most affected by climate change and suffered deadly floods in May.
