Italy's 27 Cities on Red Alert as Heatwave Tests the South

Italy's health ministry placed 27 cities, from Trieste in the northeast to Palermo in Sicily, on red alert ahead of the weekend as a blistering heatwave across much of Europe toppled temperature records and disrupted energy and transportation systems in several countries, France 24 reported. The alert covers all major urban centres, signalling the most serious heat-related health warning in the country's system.

The heat has already set a national temperature record in Austria, fueled wildfires in France, and disrupted energy grids across the continent, CBS News reported. In Italy, the summer of 2026 is on track to rival the infamous summer of 2003, according to The Local Italy, which noted that temperatures across much of the country are approaching or exceeding those recorded during that deadly season.

For the region of Molise, the red alert is not merely a distant headline. Campobasso, the regional capital, sits at roughly 700 metres above sea level in the Apennine interior, where continental climate usually offers relief from coastal heat. But this summer, temperatures in the region's inland towns have matched those of the plains, with no sea breeze to temper the afternoons.