Twelve of Italy's 27 biggest cities,
including Rome, Florence, Naples and Palermo, were put on red
alert by the health ministry on Tuesday due to a heat wave that
has pushed temperatures well above the seasonal average, with
thermometers hitting peaks of 40°C.
The number on red alert is set to rise to 19 on Wednesday.
Italy's regions of Emilia Romagna, Liguria, Lombardy, Piedmont,
Tuscany, Trentino Alto Adige, Val d'Aosta and Veneto, meanwhile,
are braced for a wave of storms that is forecast to hit the
north.
The current heat wave, the latest in series to have already hit
Italy this year even though summer has only just begun, has
exacerbated the nation's drought crisis that comes after months
of low rainfall and an extremely dry winter.
Italy's civil protection department has failed to rule out water
rationing during the day because of the drought, which is
causing massive problems for agriculture.
Civil Protection Department Head Fabrizio Curcio told Sky Tg24
on Monday that the volume of water in the Po, Italy's longest
river, was up to 80% lower than usual.
More frequent and intense droughts and heat waves are among the
consequences of human-caused climate change, scientists say.
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