Rome, July 26 : The southern Italian island of Sicily was ravaged by fires while storms and hail have battered the northern part of Italy.

Meanwhile, northern regions are reeling from violent storms and high winds that uprooted trees and lifted roofs off buildings.  In some places, tennis ball-sized hailstones injured people, damaged cars and destroyed crops.  A 16-year-old girl was killed when a tree fell on the tent she was sleeping in at a summer camp near the city of Brescia, while a middle-aged woman died after also being hit by a falling tree in Lissone, north of Milan.  Overnight, the regions of Lombardy and Veneto experienced torrential rainfall and extremely strong winds, which reached 100km/h (62mph) in Milan. On Tuesday, local authorities told residents to stay away from public parks, as there is a high risk that branches might snap off trees.  One of the city's main attractions, the 15th-Century Sforza Castle, was closed to the public on Tuesday "due to damage caused by severe weather". 

The mayor of the city, Giuseppe Sala, said: "I have never seen anything like this... We can't deny it any longer - climate change is changing our lives.  "We can't pretend it's not happening and we absolutely can't keep doing nothing," Mr Sala said in a video shared on Facebook. 

Meanwhile, Sicily - which has already been brought to its knees by a prolonged heatwave - is battling wildfires that are threatening towns and cities across the island. Temperatures of more than 47.5C (117F) were recorded in Catania on Monday.  Several resorts and tourist hotspots around the island have began evacuating their guests.