Deadly heatwave starts to loosen its grip on Italy

The long heatwave that had been linked

to a number of deaths in Italy is starting to loosen its grip,

with the number of the 27 big cities on red alert dropping from

25 to 21 on Wednesday and falling to just two, Catania and

Reggio Calabria, on Thursday.

A wave of thunderstorms is forecast to arrive, which are

expected to help bring down temperatures, although they could

also cause problems of a different nature.

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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