Rome, 27 Aug. (LaPresse) – Here we go: with the fifth heatwave of summer 2026, on Friday 28 August there will be nine cities on ‘red alert’, all in central and southern Italy. The list appears in the latest update to the Ministry of Health’s bulletin: Bari, Cagliari, Campobasso, Catania, Latina, Messina, Palermo, Reggio Calabria and Rome. In these cities, it is not only vulnerable groups who will be at risk from the extreme heat, but the entire population. The ‘red alert’ status indicates emergency conditions with potential adverse effects on the health of healthy, active people, and not just on at-risk groups such as the elderly, very young children and those with chronic illnesses. The longer the heatwave lasts, the greater the expected adverse health effects, according to officials at Lungotevere Ripa. Ancona, Bologna, Civitavecchia, Florence, Frosinone, Perugia, Pescara, Rieti and Viterbo are on ‘orange’ alert. In this Italy divided in two by the heatwave, only three cities in the north remain ‘breathing easy’, all on ‘green’ alert: Milan, Turin and Trieste.
Heatwave: the fifth wave is on its way, with a ‘red alert’ in nine cities on Friday
Rome, 27 Aug. (LaPresse) – Here we go: with the fifth heatwave of summer 2026, on Friday 28 August there will be nine cities on ‘red alert’, all in central and southern Italy. The list appears in the latest update to the Ministry of Health’s bulletin: Bari, Cagliari, Campobasso, Catania, Latina, Messina, Palermo, Reggio Calabria and Rome. In these cities, it is not only vulnerable groups who will be at risk from the extreme heat, but the entire population. The ‘red alert’ status indicates emergency conditions with potential adverse effects on the health of healthy, active people, and not just on at-risk groups such as the elderly, very young children and those with chronic illnesses. The longer the heatwave lasts, the greater the expected adverse health effects, according to officials at Lungotevere Ripa. Ancona, Bologna, Civitavecchia, Florence, Frosinone, Perugia, Pescara, Rieti and Viterbo are on ‘orange’ alert. In this Italy divided in two by the heatwave, only three cities in the north remain ‘breathing easy’, all on ‘green’ alert: Milan, Turin and Trieste.