In Italy, a fierce heatwave has prompted authorities to place 25 of the country’s 27 major cities on a red-level heat alert, signalling extreme temperature risks. Only the southern towns of Reggio Calabria and Messina will remain at the amber level next week.
Health officials warn that temperatures in places like Rome, Milan, Venice and Naples have reached mid‑30s Celsius, a danger even for healthy adults. Residents are urged to avoid direct sun between 11:00 and 18:00, stay indoors, and drink plenty of fluids.
The heat is caused by a subtropical anticyclone that has strengthened over the Mediterranean air mass, an atmospheric pattern that provides dry and hot conditions favorable for fires.
Meanwhile, Greece, France, Portugal and Spain are still fighting wildfires that have burned thousands of hectares. In France some 2,500 people were evacuated when a blaze re‑ignited in the Var region, while Spain’s southwest has seen over 200,000 ha of land burn, five times the average for this time of year.
Rising global temperatures, especially in Europe, have intensified summer heatwaves, strained water supplies and increased fire risk. Climate‑model data shows Europe is warming twice as fast as the world average, accelerating the conditions that lead to such extreme events.
