Italy Puts All 27 Major Cities on Highest Heat Alert

Italy is to place all of its 27 major cities, from Trieste in the north to Palermo in the south, under the highest heat alert as the fourth heatwave to hit the country this summer intensifies, the Guardian reported on Wednesday.

The red alert, the highest level on Italy's heat warning scale, comes as temperatures in some areas edge close to 40C. The measure covers every major urban centre across the country, reflecting the breadth of a heat event that has now become a recurring feature of the Italian summer.

For the Emilia-Romagna plain, the alert carries particular weight. The region's cities — Bologna, Modena, Parma, Ferrara — sit in the Po Valley, where humid continental climate and summer heat combine to make nights as uncomfortable as days. The region's dense network of food and packaging industries relies on a workforce that must move through these conditions.