Number of Italy's big cities on heatwave red alert climbs to 17

The health ministry on Thursday had

17 of Italy's 27 biggest cities on red alert due to the danger

posed by the high temperatures of the deadly heatwave that is

baking Italy and much of Western Europe.

On Thursday Bari joined 16 cities that were already on red alert

- Ancona, Bologna, Bolzano, Brescia, Florence, Frosinone,

Latina, Milan, Perugia, Pescara, Rieti, Rome, Turin, Venice,

Verona and Viterbo.

Genoa will join the cities on maximum alert on Friday, taking

the total up to 18.

The heat is thought to have been behind the deaths of at least

give people in Italy on Wednesday - two farmers in the Lodi and

Piacenza areas, a worker near Padua, a homeless man in Naples,

and a man who passed away at Garlasco cemetery.

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.

Scientists say the climate crisis caused by human greenhouse gas

emissions is making extreme weather events such as heatwaves,

droughts, supercharged storms and flooding more frequent and

more intense.

Although there are many sources of the greenhouse gases that are

causing global heating, the main driver is the burning of fossil

fuels such as oil, gas and coal, sales of which generate huge

profits for the world's energy giants.

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