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Italy raises red heat alerts to 19 cities by Saturday as mortality toll mounts

· EnvironmentHealth ITA
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Italy's Ministry of Health escalated its highest-level heat warnings to 16 cities on Thursday, with Milan joining the red-alert roster, and officials forecast the number will climb to 19 by Saturday as Ancona, Civitavecchia and Catania are added.

The red status — level three on Italy's alert scale — signals a weather emergency posing high risk to population health. Turin endured level 2 or 3 alerts on 23 days between 25 May and 30 June, or 63% of the period. Authorities said June 2026 was the second-hottest on record in Italy.

Heat-linked excess mortality has been limited to roughly 3% and confined to those aged over 85 in Italy, though heat waves have killed nearly 10,000 people across five European countries so far this summer, after Italy’s third heat wave of the season peaked Thursday.

Story development

  1. Fourth African heat wave to strike Italy next week as Netherlands and Austria brace for warm spell
  2. Italy's third heat wave recedes as cooler air arrives and severe storms loom
  3. Italy raises red heat alerts to 19 cities by Saturday as mortality toll mounts
  4. Italy braces for peak of third heat wave as storms threaten France and Belgium
  5. Extreme heat wave grips Italy and France with temperatures nearing 45°C

Covered by 6 outlets across 2 countries

Sources

The reporting this story is built on

antaranews.com IDN Italia umumkan "status merah" gelombang panas di 15 kotaansa.it ITA Sabato salgono a 19 le città col bollino rosso per il caldo - Ultima ora - Ansa.itilsole24ore.com ITA Sabato rovente con 19 città da bollino rosso, mortalità in crescita tra i grandi anziani
Additional coverage

Others reporting the same event

adnkronos.com ITA Caldo record in Italia, oggi 16 città da bollino rosso: sabato salgono a 19, poi arriva la svolta meteo

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