Extreme heat in Italy – raises alert to highest

 

Fanny Marhaug

  

Published 10:20

 

Tourists take shelter from the sun at the Colosseum, Rome. Photo: Alessandra Tarantino/AP

The heat wave is spreading in Italy.

Now the authorities are raising the alert level in almost all major cities.

25 of the country's 27 major cities will be on the highest alert level by Monday, according to the Italian Health Ministry.

19 cities are already on the highest alert level, including Rome, Milan, Venice and Naples. Only two cities – Reggio Calabria and Messina – will be exceptions on Monday and are expected to remain on the second highest alert level, according to the BBC.

Temperatures have already reached around 35 degrees in several parts of the country and are expected to reach just over 40 degrees on Sunday, according to local media.

Authorities are now warning that the extreme heat is not only a health risk for the elderly, young children and people with underlying illnesses – but also for perfectly healthy people.

The appeal to the people

People in the affected areas are urged to avoid direct sunlight between 11:00 and 18:00, stay indoors when it is hottest and drink plenty of fluids.

At the same time, several European countries are fighting extensive forest fires after a summer with recurring heat waves.

Italy has so far coped better than neighboring countries Spain and France, but the number of fires is still above normal.

According to the EU's climate service Copernicus Climate Change Service, Europe is the fastest-warming continent in the world and is warming about twice as fast as the global average.

The rising temperature contributes to more and longer heat waves and at the same time increases the risk of extensive forest fires.