Italy has placed 25 major cities under its highest-level heat alert as an intense heatwave pushes temperatures close to 40C, with health authorities warning that the extreme conditions pose risks to the entire population.
The Italian Ministry of Health issued a Level 3 (red) heat alert for 25 of the country's 27 largest cities on August 3, advising residents to take precautions as exceptionally high temperatures and humidity persist, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.
Only Messina and Reggio Calabria remain outside the highest alert zone.
Officials said the red alert reflects an emergency situation in which the heat may affect not only vulnerable groups, such as older people, children and those with underlying health conditions, but also healthy adults.
The ministry urged people to avoid outdoor activities during the hottest hours of the day, drink water regularly and check on those most at risk.
While the heatwave continues to dominate much of the country, Italy's Civil Protection Department has also issued yellow weather warnings for the risk of thunderstorms in parts of Abruzzo, Umbria and Sicily.
Meteorologists said a powerful African anticyclone remains firmly established over much of the Mediterranean, keeping temperatures well above seasonal averages.
Daytime highs are forecast to reach 38C to 39C across inland areas of central Italy and much of the Po Valley, with temperatures nearing 40C in areas particularly prone to heat accumulation.
Among the regions expected to experience the most intense heat are the Emilia-Romagna Plain, southern Veneto, south-eastern Lombardy, Umbria, and inland areas of Tuscany and Lazio.
According to the latest forecasts, the hot spell is expected to persist for several more days before conditions begin to ease.
European weather models indicate the African anticyclone could weaken around 8–9 August, allowing cooler and more unstable Atlantic air to move into northern Italy, bringing thunderstorms and a gradual drop in temperatures.
By Aghakazim Guliyev
