Heat wave to put 25 Italian cities on highest alert Monday

Twenty-five of the 27 Italian cities monitored by the Health Ministry will be under the highest heat wave alert on Monday as extreme temperatures continue across the country, ANSA news agency reported Saturday.

Only Messina and Reggio Calabria will remain under a yellow alert, indicating no significant health risk, according to the ministry's heat wave bulletin.

On Sunday, 23 cities will be under a red alert, the highest warning level issued by the Health Ministry.

The cities are Bolzano, Campobasso, Civitavecchia, Florence, Frosinone, Latina, Perugia, Rieti, Rome, Turin, Viterbo, Bologna, Brescia, Cagliari, Milan, Naples, Pescara, Venice, Verona, Catania, Genoa, Palermo and Trieste.

Ancona and Bari will join the list on Monday, bringing the total number of cities under the highest alert to 25.

The Health Ministry issues red alerts when heat conditions pose a risk to the entire population, not only vulnerable groups.

Italy has experienced four major heat waves so far this year (late May, second half of June, mid-July, and the ongoing one that began in late July/early August).

Several of them, particularly the intense June wave, have been linked to multiple deaths.