Climate protesters stop marathon in Rome

A statement from Last Generation said that the demonstrators interrupted the race at 9:00 am (0800 GMT), after which police moved them to the side of the road and took them to the police station.

With rising temperatures, Last Generation predicts that Italy will face “deaths at work due to the heat, deaths in cities that are unliveable” in the spring and summer.

The statement quoted a 26-year-old student named Mida as saying she wished to “sound an alarm because we will experience an unbelievable drought.” Mida was one of the protesters who were detained.

The group demands the state create a reparations fund of 20 billion euros ($22 billion) for “all people suffering damage due to climate change”.

In recent months, Last Generation activists have thrown soup, cakes and paint on cultural sites and artworks in museums in shock tactics to spread their message.

Scientists say climate change induced by human activity is increasing the intensity, frequency and length of extreme weather events such as droughts, heatwaves and wildfires.