(ANSA) - ROME, NOV 20 - The climate crisis is having an increasingly big impact on Italian farmers, according to a new report by the Legambiente environmental association with the Unipol insurance group.
    The Città Clima report said that 146 extreme-weather events causing significant damage to agriculture took place between the start of 2015 and September 20, 2024.
    The report said the sharp increase in such events in the last two years was particularly alarming, with over half of the events to have taken place over the last decade, 79, having happened in 2023 and 2024.
    It said the worst-hit regions were Piedmont with 20 events, followed by Emilia-Romagna (19), Puglia (17), Sicily and Veneto (14 each) and Sardinia (11).
    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.
    Italy has experienced a long series of such events in recent years.
    This year intense heatwaves and extreme droughts have impacted southern regions, with Sicily and Sardinia hit especially severely, while heavy rainfall has led to flooding in Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna and Marche, prompting the authorities to declare a state of emergency.
    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. (ANSA).