Heat wave in Italy reaches peak, 18 cities on red alert

2026-07-21 17:22:50Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

Heat wave in Italy reaches peak, 18 cities on red alert

Italy's severe heatwave is reaching its peak on Tuesday, as the number of cities placed on red alert by the Health Ministry rose from 17 on Monday to 18.

The city of Cagliari joined Bari, Campobasso, Catania, Civitavecchia, Florence, Frosinone, Genoa, Latina, Messina, Naples, Palermo, Perugia, Pescara, Reggio Calabria, Rieti, Rome and Viterbo at the maximum alert level on Tuesday.

Temperatures are expected to drop somewhat on Wednesday, when the number of cities on red alert will drop to seven: Cagliari, Catania, Messina, Naples, Palermo, Reggio Calabria and Rome.

The Italian Ministry of Health is monitoring 27 major cities for its warnings.

Red alert (Level 3) indicates a heat wave emergency, with prolonged high temperatures and a high risk to the health of the general population, including young people in good health.

All of this year's heat waves have been linked to a number of deaths and have also caused problems for the economy, especially the agricultural sector.

Scientists say the climate crisis caused by greenhouse gas emissions from human activity is making extreme weather events, such as heat waves, droughts, powerful storms and floods, more frequent and intense.

Although there are many sources of greenhouse gases that are causing global warming, the main factor remains the burning of fossil fuels, such as oil, gas and coal, the sale of which generates huge profits for the world's largest energy companies.


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