Italy Under Red Alert: Extreme Heat from Trieste to Palermo
Temperatures dangerously close to 40 degrees Celsius, authorities urge citizens to avoid the sun during the hottest part of the day.
Temperatures dangerously close to 40 degrees Celsius, authorities urge citizens to avoid the sun during the hottest part of the day.
Italy is facing a devastating heatwave that has prompted the highest-level red alert for as many as 27 major cities. The extreme heat stretches from Trieste in the north to Palermo in the south, with temperatures dangerously close to 40 degrees Celsius.
According to reports, the red alert was initially in effect for 25 cities, but the list has since been expanded by two more. This maximum alert level signals that prolonged extreme temperatures pose a direct health risk to the entire population.
The list of affected cities includes nearly all major urban centers, such as Turin, Bolzano, Milan, Genoa, Venice, Verona, Trieste, Bologna, Florence, Perugia, Rome, Naples, Ancona, Pescara, Bari, Campobasso, Reggio Calabria, Palermo, and Cagliari, as well as Catania, Messina, Brescia, Viterbo, Latina, Rieti, Frosinone, and Civitavecchia.
The consequences of these extreme weather conditions are already tragic. Reports on the death toll vary: Klix.ba reports that the heat has claimed four lives in the past few days, while Anadolu Agency reports three deaths suspected to be linked to the extreme heat.
Beyond endangering lives, the scorching heat has dramatically worsened the drought in the Po River valley. In the regions of Piedmont and Lombardy, more than a hundred towns are facing severe water supply difficulties and have resorted to using tanker trucks to deliver drinking water.
Meteorologists forecast that this hot spell will not ease for at least another seven days. Lorenzo Giovannini, an atmospheric physicist at the University of Trento, emphasizes that these extremes are directly caused by the human-induced climate crisis, which makes heatwaves significantly longer and more intense.
To avoid further health threats, authorities are urging citizens to stay out of direct sunlight between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. and to remain indoors whenever possible.
