Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Italy Heatwave Peaks With 16 Cities On Red Alert

Italy Heatwave Peaks With 16 Cities On Red Alert

Italy heatwave: Worst hit is expected to be Milan in the north with temperatures hitting 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), while Bologna to its south and the capital Rome could hit 39 degrees, according to official government estimates.

Italy faced the hottest day of the current heatwave Friday with red extreme heat warnings issued for 16 cities across the country, as firefighters battled blazes up and down the country.

Worst hit is expected to be Milan in the north with temperatures hitting 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), while Bologna to its south and the capital Rome could hit 39 degrees, according to official government estimates.

Other major cities under a cautionary heatwave red alert for Friday and Saturday by Italy's health ministry include Florence, Genoa, Turin and Verona.

On Thursday, the city of Pavia, just south of Milan, broke a record with thermometers hitting 39.6 degrees.

For three consecutive months -- May, June and July -- national temperatures have been at least two to three degrees above the seasonal average, and the trend should continue until early August, said national weather website ilmeteo.com.

Along with the heat have come hundreds of fires across Italy in recent weeks. The largest still raging Friday was in central Tuscany, where 860 hectares had burned since Monday in an area west of Lucca.

Over 1,000 people were evacuated Thursday.

On Friday, 87 firefighters were on the ground after another night spent battling the flames, helped by reinforcements from the Lombardy and Piedmont regions. Water dumps from helicopters were underway, authorities said.

Prosecutors in Lucca have opened an investigation over the cause of the fire.

Volunteer killed


More contained was a forest fire that broke out Tuesday near Trieste, in Italy's northeasternmost region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, sending flames and vast plumes of smoke across the border into Slovenia and displacing about 300 people.

The fire -- which caused a 15-minute general blackout Tuesday in the city of Trieste -- was now "substantially stable," Deputy Governor Riccardo Riccardi said Thursday, adding that a cold front was expected on Tuesday.

Authorities had not yet calculated how many hectares had burned.

Firefighters said a female civil defense volunteer died while trying to fight the fire. Local media said she was killed by a falling tree.

Italy's national firefighting corps say they have intervened in 32,921 wildfires from June 15 to July 21, or 4,040 more than in the same period last year.

Most have been in the southern regions of Sicily, Puglia, Calabria and Lazio, around Rome.

According to the specialised European monitoring service Copernicus, fires have ravaged 27,571 hectares so far this year in Italy.

That damage, however, is still well short of that in Spain, where 199,651 hectares have burned, or 149,324 hectares in Romania. In Portugal, 48,106 hectares have burned, with another 39,904 hectares in France.

Italy is "about to reach the maximum power of the African high pressure zone 'Apocalypse 4800'", said ilmeteo.it.

The name, it said, referred to the thermometer dropping below zero degrees only at altitudes above 4,800 meters (15,748 feet) -- corresponding to the highest peak of the Alps, at Mont Blanc along the French-Italian border.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
U.S. Goods Imports Plunge Nearly 20% Amid Tariff Disruptions
Italy Faces Population Decline Amid Youth Emigration
Trump Accuses China of Violating Trade Agreement
OpenAI Faces Competition from Cheaper AI Rivals
Foreign Tax Provision in U.S. Budget Bill Alarms Investors
Russia Accuses Serbia of Supplying Arms to Ukraine
Gerry Adams Wins Libel Case Against BBC
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
EU Majority Demands Hungary Reverse Anti-LGBTQ+ Laws
Top Hotel Picks for 2025 Stays in Budapest Revealed
Iron Maiden Unveils 2025 Tour Setlist in Budapest
Chinese Film Week Opens in Budapest to Promote Cultural Exchange
Budapest Airport Launches Direct Flights to Shymkent
Von der Leyen Denies Urging EU Officials to Skip Budapest Pride
Alcaraz and Sinner Advance with Convincing Wins at Roland Garros
EU Ministers Lack Consensus on Sanctioning Hungary Over Rule of Law
EU Nations Urge Action Against Hungary's Pride Parade Ban
Putin's Helicopter Reportedly Targeted by Ukrainian Drones
U.S. Considers Withdrawing Troops from Europe
Russia Deploys Motorbike Squads in Ukraine Conflict
Critics Accuse European Court of Human Rights of Overreach
Spain Proposes 100% Tax on Non-EU Holiday Home Purchases
German Intelligence Labels AfD as Far-Right Extremist
Geert Wilders Threatens Dutch Coalition Over Migration Policy
Hungary Faces Multiple Challenges Amid EU Tensions and Political Shifts
Denmark Increases Retirement Age to 70, Setting a European Precedent
Any trade deal with US must be based on respect not threats', says EU commissioner
UK Leads in Remote Work Adoption, Averaging 1.8 Days a Week
Thirteen Killed in Russian Attacks Across Ukraine
High-Profile Incidents and Political Developments Dominate Global News
Netanyahu Accuses Western Leaders of 'Emboldening Hamas'
Ukraine and Russia Conduct Largest Prisoner Exchange of the War
×