Italy: Fires After Floods

Firefighters are battling fierce fires in Calabria, southern Italy, while the island of Sicily is experiencing power outages as temperatures rise again during a heatwave that is causing chaos across Europe. The Civil Protection Agency in Sicily reported that temperatures in some areas of eastern the island reached 47 degrees Celsius on Sunday, nearing the European record high of 48.8 degrees Celsius set two years ago. The heatwave is hitting southern Europe during the peak of the summer tourist season, surpassing record numbers, including in Rome, and has prompted warnings about increased risks of fatalities. In the Greek island of Rhodes, thousands of tourists and locals fled from wildfires, with many evacuated by private boats from beaches threatened by the flames impacting resorts and coastal villages. Italy is one of the European countries most affected by climate change and suffered deadly floods in May.