Number of cities on red alert for heat to rise to 17 out of 27 on Thursday

The health ministry said Tuesday that

the 17 of Italy's 27 biggest cities will be on red alert for

heat on Thursday, up from 15 at the moment, with the heatwave

the country is enduring set to intensify further.

On Tuesday Ancona, Bologna, Bolzano, Brescia, Florence,

Frosinone, Milan, Perugia, Pescara, Rieti, Rome, Turin, Verona,

Venice and Viterbo were on red alert.

Latina will go red on Wednesday and Bari will join the cities on

maximum alert on Thursday, taking the total up to 17.

The health ministry's alert system has three levels in addition

to level zero, green, meaning there is no alert.

Level one, yellow, is pre-alert, while level two, orange, means

the temperatures and weather conditions can pose health risks,

especially for vulnerable groups such as the elderly and the

ill.

Level three, red, means the heat poses a risk to the health of

the general population, not just vulnerable groups.

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