Italy puts cities on red heat alert

Italy placed all 27 of the major cities monitored by its Health Ministry under red heat alert on Thursday, Aug. 6, as a heat wave spread across southern and central Europe. Temperatures topped 40 degrees Celsius in several countries, according to ABC News and other reports, while Austria recorded a national high of 40.3C on Wednesday. The heat also coincided with wildfires in Greece and Albania and prompted the Vatican to move Pope Leo XIV’s weekly general audience indoors. Authorities across the region issued health, water and power warnings as the heat shifted east. ### Which Italian cities were put on red alert? Italy’s Health Ministry placed all 27 major cities it tracks for heat warnings on the maximum red alert on Thursday, the first time that has happened, ANSA reported. Red alert is the ministry’s highest warning level and is used when heat conditions are considered dangerous not only for older people, children and those with health problems, but also for healthy, active people. (abcnews.com) Rome, Milan and Naples were among the cities covered by the alert, according to the reports carried by ABC News and Yahoo News. The warnings came as Italy faced what ANSA described as its fourth heat wave of the year. ### How hot did it get elsewhere in Europe? Austria recorded 40.3C on Wednesday, Reuters reported, setting a national temperature record as the heat intensified across the region. (ansa.it) ABC News reported that temperatures above 40C were recorded in several countries, with the center of the heat wave moving east after earlier stretches of extreme heat in France and Spain. (abcnews.com) Hungary asked residents to curb electricity use, while Moldova urged water conservation as demand rose and drought conditions worsened, ABC Australia reported. Reuters said the heat and drought were straining central and southern Europe at the same time as firefighters battled blazes in Albania. ### Why did the Vatican move the pope’s audience indoors? (usnews.com) Pope Leo XIV held his weekly general audience inside St. Peter’s Basilica rather than in St. Peter’s Square because of the heat in Rome, according to reports published Wednesday and Thursday. Protothema said Rome reached 38C, with a higher “feels like” temperature, when the audience was moved indoors. (abc.net.au) The Vatican’s audiences page shows the pope’s regular public schedule, though it does not itself explain the weather-related shift in the search result excerpt. The move underscored how the heat was affecting public events as well as health systems and infrastructure. ### Where were fires burning as the heat spread? Albania was battling wildfires as temperatures climbed, Reuters reported on Aug. 5, and ABC Australia said fires were also burning in Greece. (en.protothema.gr) ABC News’ report on Thursday said the broader heat wave was fueling wildfires in France and disrupting transport and energy systems across Europe. (vatican.va) The reports described a pattern that stretched beyond one country: extreme heat, drought and fire risk moving together across southern and eastern Europe. That characterization comes from Reuters and ABC Australia’s reporting on conditions in Austria, Hungary, Albania and Moldova. ### What happens next as the heat moves east? (usnews.com) Thursday’s warnings were expected to give way to further heat in eastern Europe, with Moldova likely to reach 38C later in the day, ABC Australia reported. Italy’s monitored-city heat bulletins remain the main official reference point for changes in alert levels, while neighboring countries continue issuing separate guidance on electricity, water use and wildfire risk. (abc.net.au) (usnews.com)