Coming at the 2025 INMR WORLD CONGRESS
Europe’s Copernicus Program identified 2024 as the hottest year on record as global temperatures, for the first time, exceeded the 1.5°C increase above pre-industrial levels. In fact, November 2024 ranked as the second warmest month in history, with an average surface air temperature of 14.1°C (i.e. 0.7°C higher than the 1991-2020 average). Marine temperatures also reached alarming levels, underscoring the urgent need for robust action against global warming. Data from 2024 shows a concerning rise in damage due to prolonged drought (+54.5% compared to 2023), river floods (+24%), and pluvial floods (+12%).
Italy is an example of a country that is highly impacted. Among the most adversely affected regions, Northern Italy experienced 198 extreme weather events, followed by Southern Italy with 92, and Central Italy with 61. Of particular concern were 19 landslides caused by heavy precipitation, 9 incidents of infrastructure damage, 8 storms, and one instance of record-high temperature. The latter points to another alarming trend: in 2024, global warming pushed the snow line in Piedmont to an altitude of 5206 meters, nearing the all-time high of 5296 meters recorded 9 years earlier.
Power infrastructure is particularly at risk from such events since it is extensive, exposed, and interdependent. Overhead transmission lines traverse forests, mountains, and coastlines, making them frontline victims of environmental extremes. Moreover, the situation experienced in 2024 is not new. Indeed, several weather-related events have struck the Italian transmission network in recent years: heavy wet snowfalls have caused line trip outs, short circuits and structural failures; strong winds have torn apart towers and uprooted trees; heavy rain, floods and landslides have led to submerged station equipment, collapsed line foundations; and extensive wildfires have impacted significant portions of the territory, causing physical damage, supply interruptions and danger for property, local residents and firefighters.
Data from TERNA, the Italian TSO, confirm this dramatic trend. Fig. 4 depicts recent widespread electrical system disruptions linked with extreme climate-induced events.
Among the major events affecting the transmission system in Italy:
• Storms & Wind
Devastating windstorms such as the Vaia Storm of October 2018 (with up to 200 km/h gusts) toppled 42 million trees in northern Italy and damaged power lines on a massive scale. More generally, severe winds and winter storms threaten the stability of transmission towers and lines.
• Floods & Landslides
Back-to-back heavy rainfall events in 2014–2015 triggered floods and debris flow in the Italian Apennines, destabilizing transmission tower foundations and causing extended outages. Overall, hydro-geological extremes (landslides and floods) accounted for about 9% of energy supply disruptions from extreme events in Italy (2013–2020). In terms of permanent impact to infrastructure, nearly 58% of the total damage recorded during landslides and flood events affected line structures and 17% affected conductors.
• Wildfire Crisis
The years 2017 and 2021 saw unprecedented wildfire activity in Italy, with 2017 dubbed an “annus horribilis” for its number of fires and 2021 breaking the record for burned area (~150,000 ha). Hotter, drier weather has lengthened the fire season and increased extreme fire behaviour.
• Compound Hazards
These hazards often compound – e.g. drought and heat lead to wildfires, or storms cause both flooding and landslides – challenging the electric grid’s reliability. For instance, a severe snowstorm in early 2017 in central Italy caused line failures and concurrently hampered wildfire response by forcing transmission line shutdowns for firefighter safety.
Plan to attend the upcoming 2025 INMR WORLD CONGRESS in Panama where expert researcher, Michele de Nigris of RSE in Italy will offer recommendations on how to improve resilience of power systems. His presentation will gather from results of research to assess and enhance resilience of overhead transmission lines to extreme weather events. Particular attention will be given to strong wind, extreme precipitation, geohydrological events and wildfires.
He will focus on threats linked to extreme weather events and their impact on overhead lines as input for setting up increased resilience measures. These methods are based on an advanced probabilistic approach that deepens the connection between threats (e.g., extreme weather events), component vulnerabilities (i.e., susceptibility to these threats), and power system contingencies (i.e. failures) potentially leading to extended service degradation and blackouts.
