Awave of storms was causing a different type of extreme-weather trouble in Italy on Thursday following the deadly heatwave the country has been enduring over the last two weeks.
Trees felled by violent winds and flooding caused by torrential rain provoked major disruption in many areas.

The Veneto regional government said its firefighters had responded to almost 400 emergency situations after storms started belting the area on Wednesday, mostly regarding fallen trees, branches and poles and flooding, including in people’s homes.
The authorities in Friuli Venezia Giulia reported a similar situation.
Trees were also toppled in the Adriatic city of Ancona, including one that hit a moving car, fortunately injuring no one.

Early on Thursday a huge cloudburst also hit Naples and the surrounding area, causing widespread flooding.
While the storms have helped bring down temperatures in much of the country, the health ministry still had two of Italy’s 27 big cities, Catania and Reggio Calabria, on red alert on Thursday because of the dangers posed by the heatwave.
Scientists say the climate crisis caused by human greenhouse gas emissions is making extreme weather events such as heatwaves, droughts, supercharged storms and flooding more frequent and more intense.
Although there are many sources of the greenhouse gases that are causing global heating, the main driver is the burning of fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal, sales of which generate huge profits for the world’s energy giants.