Italy declares red Heatwave (44C) alert in 15 Cities

Italy’s health ministry declared a red heatwave alert in 15 cities, including Milan and Rome, on Tuesday, advising people to stay indoors in the hottest parts of the day. The number of red alerts in cities will rise to 16 on Wednesday and 17 on Thursday.

During a red alert — the highest level on the scale — the ministry advises people to eat light and sprinkle themselves with cool water. There have been blackouts in Milan and Turin due to a spike in air-conditioning use.

The hospital service in Parma, northern Italy, said 1,068 people had accessed its emergency care facilities over the last three days due to the heatwave.

In Rome, a doctors’ association was quoted by the Corriere della Sera daily as saying that seven public health service clinics had no air conditioning or broken air conditioning.

The city’s transport authority told the daily that the batteries on its new electric buses were running out faster than usual due to increased use of air conditioning. “We are organizing the service to face up to this unusual heatwave,” the Atac authority was quoted as saying.