Tennis ball-sized hail storm injures more than 100 people in Italy

More than 100 people have been injured in a surprise storm after tennis ball-sized hailstones battered parts of northern Italy.

The stones, some of which were up to 10cm in diameter, pelted the streets of Veneto, according to the regional president Luca Zaia.

Emergency services responded to more than 500 calls relating to property damage and personal injuries, the Veneto regional civil protection said.

A 53-year-old man was killed while riding his bicycle during the storm after his wife, who had been following him with their car ran him over, CNN reports via its affiliate Sky24.

It comes immediately off the back of a unrelenting heatwave that struck Italy, Spain and Greece.

Italy has been expected to break its hottest ever temperature record (48.8C), with the heat being around 10C hotter than the average for this time of year.

Red alerts for high temperatures have been issued for 23 of the country's 27 main cities, with hospitals reported to be experiencing an uptick in patients due to the heatwave.

The heat in Rome eased only slightly on Wednesday after a sweltering 42-43C the day before, while highs in Sicily and Sardinia reached 46C.

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