In Italy the climate crisis is moving fast, while cities are struggling to respond quickly and effectively. In the Peninsula in the last 11 years – from 2015 to September 2025 – there have been 811 extreme weather events, of which 97 in 2025 (January-September), recorded in 136 municipalities over 50 thousand inhabitants where a total of 18.6 million people live, i.e. 31.5% of the population in our country. Yet, only 39.7% of the municipalities in question have put in place a plan or strategy for adapting to climate change. This photograph was taken by Legambiente which, a few days after the start of the COP30 on the climate in Brazil and in view of the second edition of “Climate Pride”, the national mobilization for the climate on 15 November in Rome, today releases the data of its new report “CittàClima. Special governance for the adaptation to the climate of urban areas” – created in collaboration with the Unipol Group – focusing on the impacts that the climate crisis is having in municipalities with over 50 thousand inhabitants and relaunching its proposals for more resilient cities.
Extreme weather events: Reggio Calabria and Lamezia in the top positions
The impacts on the most affected cities and urban areas: Flooding from intense rain (371 events), gusts of wind and tornadoes (167) and river flooding (60) are the extreme weather events that have occurred most frequently in these 11 years. Among other things, the damage to infrastructure is also worrying, 55 of those caused mostly by heavy rain and record temperatures with impacts especially on the transport network, and then the 33 damages from hailstorms. Cities with between 50 and 150 thousand inhabitants pay the greatest price. Here, in recent years, the greatest number of extreme weather events has been concentrated, 48% of the total (811), and among the most affected cities are Agrigento (28), Ancona (14), Fiumicino (11), Forlì (11) and Como (11). Other urban areas are not doing well either: out of 811 extreme weather events, 28% were recorded in large cities (with over 500 thousand inhabitants) and 23% in municipalities between 150 thousand and 500 thousand, among the latter the most affected is Bari with 33 cases, followed by Bologna (18), Florence (14) and Catania (13). Double black jersey, however, for Rome which achieves a sad record: it is the municipality with the most events recorded from 2015 to the end of September 2025, with 93 of them, and among the large cities it is the most affected followed by Milan with 40 events of which 16 floods, Genoa (36), Palermo (32), Naples (20) and Turin (13). Naples is the only one of the “big sisters” to have not adopted a plan or strategy against climate change. Like her, also Bari, Reggio Calabria, Prato, Perugia, among the municipalities with 150 thousand and 500 thousand inhabitants, and then Fiumicino, Como, Lamezia Terme, Massa, Potenza among the municipalities between 50 thousand and 150 thousand inhabitants.
THE GREAT FORGOTTEN, PNACC AND LAW AGAINST LAND CONSUMPTION. In light of this photograph, according to Legambiente, Italy is paying the price for the delays linked to the implementation of the PNACC and the absence of a law against land consumption. Priorities totally forgotten by the Meloni Government. For this reason, the environmentalist association, with its CittàClima report, once again reiterates to the Executive the urgency of allocating the resources to finance and fully implement the PNACC, which, two years after its approval, still remains a plan only on paper together with the 361 measures to be adopted on a national and regional scale. A delay, Legambiente reports, unacceptable given that failure to implement slows down the drafting of local climate adaptation plans. Just as it is urgent to establish by decree the National Observatory for adaptation to climate change, composed of representatives of the Regions and local authorities for the identification of territorial and sectoral priorities and for monitoring the effectiveness of adaptation actions. The decree was supposed to be issued by March 21, 2024, i.e. three months after the approval of the PNACC, but to date it has not yet seen the light.
The country needs cities capable of focusing on mitigation and adaptation. In this regard, for the environmentalist association it is also important that a specific plan is drawn up for the adaptation of urban areas, intertwining the theme with that of adaptation for the coasts, as done in Spain in 2016. The other major priority on which the Meloni Government must work is to approve a national law on stopping land consumption, the legislative process of which began in 2012 and has been stopped in Parliament since 2016. It is also necessary to provide for a ban on building in risk areas hydrogeological, reopen the ditches and rivers buried in the past, recover the permeability of the soil through the diffusion of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SUDS) that replace asphalt and concrete. Having resilient cities also means working on integrated governance, informing citizens, working on innovation and technology, and at the same time replicating the good practices implemented in Italy and abroad. From Bologna, the first large Italian city in 2015 to adopt a plan against climate change to Vienna which integrates climate adaptation actions and strategies into urban planning, with particular reference to the mitigation of heat waves and the urban heat island effect, just to name a few.
“The ongoing climate crisis and the heavy environmental, economic, social and health impacts – comments Giorgio Zampetti, general director of Legambiente – remind us of the urgency of concrete actions. In Italy at the moment the only urgency seems to be that linked to the Bridge over the Strait of Messina, forgetting the safety of people exposed to the effects of climate change. Today, however, it is necessary to invest in interventions that increase the resilience capacity of cities in terms of mitigation and adaptation. The data from our Climate City report confirms how vulnerable urban areas are to climate change, as well as the global report of the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change, and that of the IPCC, underline the urgency of acting at a global and national level. For this reason we ask the Meloni Government as a first priority to include in the budget law in progress the economic resources necessary to implement the National Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change and that at an international level Italy does its part at COP30 in Brazil to give substance to the commitments made both with the Agreement Paris and in previous summits. In particular, we hope that our country will support the adoption of an Action Plan that outlines the path for the coming years to accelerate global climate action in line with the 1.5° objective of the Paris Agreement”.
“The Calabrian cities – comments Anna Parretta, president of Legambiente Calabria – are already suffering the consequences of climate change, with repercussions on the populations destined to worsen further. However, almost none have adopted an adaptation plan. We continue to be overall unprepared for the growing impacts on ecosystems, places and people, managing to intervene only in the emergency phase. On the contrary, it is necessary to act preventively to increase resilience and urban quality. It is essential, for example, to increase the areas green, strengthen hydraulic infrastructures and improve the sewerage system to better manage intense rainfall, reduce the risk of flooding, encourage the recovery of rainwater and develop integrated water resource management strategies.” “A challenge – concludes Parretta – that can no longer be postponed. Planning today means reducing the costs – economic and human – of tomorrow and transforming current fragility into an opportunity for development and improvement of the quality of life.”
FOCUS ON ADAPTATION PLANS AND STRATEGIES: In its report Legambiente also analyzes the response of municipalities to the climate crisis and which unfortunately travels at different speeds in terms of climate adaptation plans or strategies. Black jersey for cities between 50 thousand and 150 thousand inhabitants, 68% do not have a plan or strategy, only 32% (35 out of 110) have this planning tool. However, the response of cities between 150 thousand and 500 thousand inhabitants is better, with 70% of municipalities (14 out of 20 cities in this range) having a plan or strategy. However, large cities, those with over 500 thousand inhabitants, did well, where in 83% of cases (5 cities out of 6) an adaptation plan or strategy was prepared. In addition to Bologna, Milan and Genoa are also good, for example, among the large cities to adopt plans or strategies. Among the latest new entries is Rome which approved an adaptation strategy in 2025.
“The absence of a widespread diffusion of planning tools for climate adaptation in the Municipalities – declares Andrea Minutolo, scientific director of Legambiente – is the result of the lack of implementation developments of the PNACC, of the lack of adequate resources and specific skills in the municipalities on extreme weather events and the impacts they generate on the territories. On the question of resources, the example of the PUMS, the urban sustainable mobility plans, should be followed, with the Government defining the minimum requirements and key points necessary to develop the urban adaptation plans, binding and guaranteeing the resources for their approval to those who meet these requirements. In this way it becomes possible to overcome a programming often done in a patchy manner, making the structures of the plans of the different cities homogeneous and giving the Mayors certain and quality planning tools”.
Top Ten municipalities between 50 thousand and 150 thousand most affected by extreme weather events: Black jersey in Agrigento with 28 extreme weather events, followed by Ancona (14), the greatest impacts are largely due to flooding from intense rain and wind damage. Following in order of ranking are Forlì (11), Como (11), Fiumicino (11), Sassari (10), Lamezia Terme (9), Potenza (9), Massa (8) and Pesaro (8). It should be noted that Fiumicino has recorded 7 storm surges out of 11 events in the last 11 years.
Top Ten municipalities between 150 thousand and 500 thousand: Black jersey in Bari (with 33 events), followed by Bologna (18), Florence (14), Catania (13), with a predominance of damage due to flooding and wind. Fifth place for Reggio Calabria (9), followed by Modena (9), Livorno (9), Messina (8), Prato (7), Perugia (7).
Top Six Municipalities with over 500 thousand inhabitants: Maglia nera in Rome in first place with a total of 93 extreme weather events. Followed by Milan (40), Genoa (36), Palermo (32), Naples (20) and Turin (13).
The comment by Anna Parretta, president of Legambiente Calabria
“The Calabrian cities – comments Anna Parretta, president of Legambiente Calabria – are already suffering the consequences of climate change, with repercussions on populations destined to worsen further. However, almost none have adopted an adaptation plan. We continue to be overall unprepared for the growing impacts on ecosystems, places and people, managing to intervene only in the emergency phase. On the contrary, we need to act preventively to increase resilience and urban quality. It is essential, for example, to increase green areas, strengthen hydraulic infrastructures and improve the sewerage system to better manage intense rainfall, reduce the risk of flooding, promote the recovery of rainwater and develop integrated water resource management strategies.” “A challenge – concludes Parretta – that can no longer be postponed. Planning today means reducing the costs – economic and human – of tomorrow and transforming current fragility into an opportunity for development and improvement of the quality of life.”