JAKARTA More than one million people in Italy live in areas with a high or very high risk of landslides. Climate change is expected to exacerbate the situation. This was conveyed by the Italian public research institute on Wednesday, July 30, along with the launch of a new artificial intelligence assistant (AI) to help the public assess the risk.
The Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA) said climate change had increased the frequency of stronger storms, thereby increasing the risk of landslides and floods, even reaching areas that were previously not too affected.
According to ISPRA data, the percentage of areas exposed to the risk of serious landslides increased from 8.7% in 2021 to 9.5% last year. About 2.2% of Italy’s population, or about 1.3 million people, now living in areas that are classified as high risk.
“Italy remains one of the countries in Europe that is most vulnerable to the risk of landslides,” said ISPRA. The agency also mentioned several deadly natural disasters that occurred recently, such as landslides on Ischia Island in 2022 and large floods in the Emilia-Romagna region in 2023.
The latest AI assistant developed is designed to help the public access and navigate the public platform IdroGEO, a map system that contains the latest data on soil instability. This assistant can provide information and answer user questions interactively.
This step is expected to increase residents’ awareness and preparedness for natural disasters triggered by climate change and geological conditions in Italy.
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