The Lucifer heatwave that is currently baking Italy is expected to peak on Friday, when 15 cities are set to be on red alert.
When a city is on red alert it means the heat is so intense it is a danger to the health of the general population and not just the elderly and the fragile.
The 15 cities that will be on red alert on Friday are Bari, Bologna, Bolzano, Brescia, Cagliari, Campobasso, Florence, Frosinone, Latina, Palermo, Perugia, Rieti, Rome, Trieste and Viterbo.
Eight of those cities were already on red alert on Wednesday.
Temperatures are forecast to reach as high as 48° in parts of southern Italy.
Scientists say the climate crisis is causing heatwaves and extreme weather events to be more frequent and more intense.
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