2025 was the second year more bitter in terms of extreme weather events for the last 11 years. They reached 376, with +5.9% compared to 2024. It only went worse in 2023, marked by 383 events. This is what emerges from the balance drawn by theLegambiente City Climate Observatory. Flooding from heavy rains (139), wind damage (86) ed river floods (37) are the main phenomena to have caused devastation in the year that is coming to an end. The sharp increase in prices is also worrying cases linked to record temperatures (+94% compared to last year), that of landslides from intense rain (+42%) and damage caused by wind (28.3%). Complicit in this situation is the failure to implement measures that serve to prevent, rather than continue to stem, emergencies. Examples are the cases, told by ilfattoquotidiano.it of Milanowith the lamination tanks which are not enough without a new policy on land and waste consumption Romawhere in the restyling of Piazza Cinquecento, in front of the station, the mini shadow was not foreseen.
The map of the City Climate Observatory
The effects of the climate crisis also have repercussions on the territories: in 2025, the most affected were above all the Northern Italywhere in September bad weather caused devastation from Piedmont to Lombardy and where Friuli Venezia Giulia paid the price in November, followed by Sud e Center. Between the cities, Genova (12 extreme weather events), Milano (7) e Palermo (7). At a regional level, the regions that have suffered the greatest impacts of extreme weather events were Lombardywith almost 50, Sicily (45) and the Tuscany (41). At the provincial level, Genova with 16 extreme weather events, followed by the province of Messina e Torino con 12, Firenze e Treviso con 11, Milano con 10, As, Lecce, Massa Carrara e Palermo with 9. Also worrying is the damage that extreme weather events are causing on transport: 24 in 2025 caused damage and delays to trains and local public transport on the Peninsula. Interruptions and suspensions caused not only by intense rain, flooding and landslides due to intense precipitation, but also by record temperatures and strong gusts of wind.
The price for delays in adaptation
The Peninsula, Legambiente reports, pays the price for sporadic and uncoordinated adaptation actions. A law against it is still awaited land consumption and the establishment ofNational observatory for adaptation to climate change. Failure to implement the National plan for adaptation to climate changeapproved at the end of 2023 (the resources necessary to adopt the 361 measures envisaged on a national and regional scale have not even been allocated), slows down the drafting of Local climate adaptation plans. It occurs in a context in which the damage suffered in the country by heat waves, droughts and floods in 2025, according to a recent study byUniversity of Mannheimamount to 11.9 billion euros and in the future, with a projection to 2029, they will rise to 34.2 billion euros. “Once again Italy – he comments Stefano Ciafaninational president of Legambiente – found itself unprepared in the face of a climate crisis which has been a harsh reality on the national territory for many years. The images of what happened in different regions, from floods to great drought, speak for themselves. And as always, the citizens, territories, businesses and more generally the country’s economy are paying the price.”
Drought: the chronic emergency
2025 was also a year marked by the now chronic emergency of drought. What is most affected is the Southern Italyin particular the North of Sardiniathe Puglia and the Sicily. In Sardinia, in From Us agricultural companies have been forced to give up many crops, compromising food production and generating strong economic repercussions. The situation for the farms is dramatic, with the animals risking being left without water to drink due to the drying up of the wells. Companies in the sector have been forced to purchase water at unsustainable costs. In September, in Sicilythe 12 mayors of the irrigation district of Riberaasked for the third emergency irrigation, to try to save the crops, in particular the quality orchards in the area, from oranges to peaches. In Pugliathe municipal council of Saint Severus (Foggia) resolved the request for a declaration of a state of natural disaster due to the prolonged drought and high temperatures that have affected the entire Captained.
Record heat in Europe: another red alert for high temperatures
According to recent data from Copernicus Climate Change Service it is practically certain that 2025 will be the second warmest year on record, tied with 2023, behind only 2024. According to the dataset analyzed (ERA5), the global average temperature for the period 2023-2025 is likely to exceed 1.5°C, which would represent the first three-year average to record exceeding the limit established by the Paris Agreement. In Europe, record heat marked the entire summer. According to a study conducted by Imperial College London e London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicineclimate change has intensified summer temperatures across the European continent and caused 16,500 more deaths than to a “normal” summer without increases in temperatures caused by human activities.
Related News :