Number of Italy's big cities on heatwave red alert climbs to 18

The health ministry on Friday had 18

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 Friday Genoa joined 16 cities that were already on red alert

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

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

Verona and Viterbo.

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

five people in Italy - 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.

Palermo's courthouse on Thursday suspended hearings until June

29 because of the heat and problems with its air-conditioning.

Florence's Uffizi Gallery, meanwhile, said it has extended a

suspension of ticket sales imposed earlier this week until

Sunday due to the heat and malfunctioning air conditioning

systems, with only people with previous bookings allowed to

enter.

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.

Related stories