Palermo, the capital of climate inequalities

Palermo returns to being the capital, a couple of centuries after it held this role in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. But this time, the Sicilian capital achieves a less noble distinction: It is the capital of Italy for climate inequalities. 

In no other Italian city are the differences in temperatures, and the disastrous effects of heat waves, as marked as in the case of the working-class and residential neighborhoods of Palermo.

In the Sperone and Brancaccio areas, the working-class neighborhoods where there's a complete lack of greenery and poor infrastructure, temperatures reach 64 degrees Celsius at the hottest point on the ground! And inside homes, the heat lasts all day, from dawn until late at night. In residential neighborhoods, where trees and gardens do exist, such as the Via Libertà area, with its 2,5 kilometers of tree-lined sidewalks and elegant buildings that were once Art Nouveau villas, where temperatures don't go above 32 degrees. Thanks to the environmental conditions of the neighborhood.

The data were provided by Legambiente, which launched the campaign in Palermo

“It's so hot”, with all the measurements, neighborhood by neighborhood, recorded by thermal imaging cameras. Thus, it was discovered, incontrovertibly, that in the Sicilian capital there are working-class neighborhoods (such as Sperone and Brancaccio) where the asphalt melts underfoot, the tropical heat is constant 24/7, and there are no places to seek shelter in the shade. And residential neighborhoods, inhabited by wealthy Palermitans and frequented by tourists, such as Notarbartolo-Giardino Inglese, where freshness is at home, even when temperatures are tropical. 

It is not true that the climate crisis is the same for everyone. There are enormous differences, linked to income, social status, where one lives, and the means available to protect oneself from heat waves. The whole truth is told, with scientific research figures and the stories of men and women. in this book.