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Extreme Weather Hits Europe And Beyond: Floods In Switzerland And Italy

Switzerland and northern Italy face severe flooding due to heavy rain and thunderstorms, causing significant damage and at least one fatality. Simultaneously, heatwaves dominate the northern hemisphere, with extreme temperatures affecting Saudi Arabia, the Balkans, the US, and Pakistan.

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Aqsa Younas Rana
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Europe grapples with severe flooding.

Over the past week, severe weather has wreaked havoc across Switzerland and northern Italy, while heatwaves have gripped the northern hemisphere, and Australia faces an early winter chill.

Switzerland experienced devastating downpours on Friday, with over 100mm of rain falling across many areas, more than half within one hour. This led to flash flooding and landslides that swept away cars and houses, resulting in at least one fatality and widespread damage to transport infrastructure. The mountain resort of Zermatt was completely cut off due to floodwater, road closures, and suspended train services. Unsettled conditions lingered around the Alpine region over the weekend before moving south into Italy.

Why This Matters: In Italy, heavy rain hit Emilia-Romagna and northern Tuscany on Tuesday, with 100mm to 200mm of rainfall causing rivers to overflow and widespread flooding. In Veneto, a powerful thunderstorm produced a tornado near Rovigo, toppling trees and damaging buildings. Water levels in Lake Garda reached their highest since 1977.

Heatwaves continue to dominate weather headlines across the northern hemisphere. In Saudi Arabia, temperatures soared above 50°C (122°F) last week during the hajj pilgrimage, leading to over 500,000 hospitalizations and up to 1,300 heat-related deaths. The Balkans experienced power cuts last Friday as temperatures in the high 30s°C led to a surge in air conditioning use. In the US, more than 100 million people were under heat alerts, with record temperatures set in several northeastern states on Friday, and Death Valley in California reaching 49°C on Sunday. Pakistan reported hundreds of deaths as temperatures exceeded 40°C daily since the weekend.

In contrast, the southern hemisphere saw parts of Australia experiencing an early winter cold snap. Queensland recorded overnight temperatures more than 10°C below average, and the southeast faced its coldest start to winter in decades. Brisbane recorded lows of 7.7°C, Melbourne 2.2°C, and Canberra -3.3°C. Minimum temperature records for June were broken in at least five locations, with parts of Victoria and South Australia seeing their coldest June day in decades, with temperatures struggling to rise above single digits.

Key Takeaways:

  • Heavy rain and thunderstorms cause severe flooding in Switzerland and Italy.
  • Switzerland’s Zermatt resort cut off due to floods, landslides, and road closures.
  • Heatwaves impact Saudi Arabia, Balkans, US, and Pakistan with extreme temperatures.
  • Saudi Arabia sees over 500,000 hospitalizations, 1,300 deaths during hajj pilgrimage.
  • Australia experiences early winter cold snap, breaking minimum temperature records.

Floods Italy