Italy places all major cities on red heat alert as wildfires rage across Europe
Story Timeline
9 days · 10 summary articles
Italy placed all 27 of its major cities under the highest heat alert on Thursday, marking the first time this year that the entire network has been under the red alert simultaneously, according to the Italian Health Ministry. The alerts stretch from Trieste in the northeast to Palermo in Sicily, signaling a health risk for the entire population, not only vulnerable groups. Authorities urged residents and tourists to avoid direct sunlight during the hottest hours, remain indoors where possible, and drink plenty of water .
The extreme heatwave has pushed temperatures above 40°C (104°F) in several Italian cities, with 25 of the 27 monitored cities already under red alert as of Tuesday. The remaining two, Messina in Sicily and Reggio Calabria, were projected to join them by Thursday. The ministry’s heatwave bulletin uses a four-tier system, with the red alert indicating emergency conditions for healthy adults, not just vulnerable groups .
The heatwave has also disrupted tourism and infrastructure. Rome extended evening opening hours at landmarks like the Colosseum and Pantheon, installed cooling mist fans at the Colosseum’s entrances, and added medical stations. The city also opened a free municipal “urban beach” along the Tiber River, where residents can cool off in swimming pools and shaded areas .
Meanwhile, the heatwave has fueled wildfires across Europe. In Serbia, firefighters are battling blazes in rugged mountain terrain, including the Ibar Gorge area and the Žarački Mountains, where over 150 hectares of forest have been affected. Strong winds have spread fires in the Deliblato Sands nature reserve, scorching around 500 hectares. One person died in a fire near Požarevac, and authorities have declared states of emergency in parts of Kovin and Bačka Palanka municipalities .
In France, wildfires have injured wildlife, with animals treated at the Aquitaine Wildlife Rescue Centre in Audenge after fires struck the Gironde region. The fires advanced quickly due to tinderbox conditions worsened by successive heatwaves since May .
The heatwave has also exposed vulnerabilities in energy systems. Poland shut down two coal-fired power plants due to critically low water levels in the Vistula River, losing approximately 1.3 GW of capacity. In Hungary, a nuclear power plant was temporarily shut down but is expected to resume operations as water levels rise .
Spain’s Agencia Estatal de Meteorología reported temperatures reaching 40°C in the Guadalquivir Valley and above 35°C in much of the country. The agency also warned of storms with hail and strong winds in eastern regions, including Castellón and Valencia .
Follow us for live European news
- 3
- 2
- 2
- 2
- 1
- 1
- 1
- 1
- 1
7 further sources not geolocated
Articles
Le chômage en France atteint 8,3 au deuxième trimestre, son plus haut niveau depuis lautomne 2020 Le nombre de demandeurs demploi, 2,7 millions de personnes, a augmenté de 0,2, a annoncé lInsee ce vendredi 7 août. Linstitut note quil demeure toutefois nettement au-dessous de son pic de la mi-2015 (10,6 ).
liberation · about 7 hours ago
Serbia battles wildfires amid extreme heat and drought Fires are spreading through difficult and inaccessible terrain, making firefighting operations more challenging.
intellinews · about 7 hours ago
European wildfires face major insurance gap: Swiss Re Swiss reinsurance giant Swiss Re cannot quantify the economic damage caused by the severe forest fires that have ravaged several European countries. However, the company expects that these events will not have a material impact on its financial results, not least because a significant proportion of the damage is uninsured. + How to prevent wildfires in Switzerland and Europe During the press conference on the half-yearly results, chief financial officer Anders Malmström said that there is a significant insurance gap in Europe with regard to the fires. As wildfires, exacerbated by increasingly frequent heatwaves, represent a trend set to continue, the reinsurance company intends to raise awareness amongst the various stakeholder groups. CEO Andreas Berger added that it is often mistakenly believed that fires are covered by national natural perils pools. In reality, particularly in southern Europe, damage caused by forest fires is generally excluded, forcing property owners to take ...
swissinfo · about 7 hours ago
American flown to New Zealand hospital in rare midwinter Antarctic rescue mission The sun last set at the geographic South Pole on 23 March and will not rise until 21 September.
euronews · about 7 hours ago
Căldura extremă doboară recorduri în Europa Centrală și de Est. Polonia, forțată să închidă două centrale electrice pe cărbune Un val de căldură extremă lovește Europa Centrală și de Est, unde mai multe țări au înregistrat temperaturi record, în timp ce seceta pune o presiune tot mai mare asupra infrastructurii critice. În Slovacia, temperaturile au urcat până la 42 de grade Celsius, iar în Polonia nivelul extrem de scăzut al Vistulei a forțat oprirea a două centrale electrice pe cărbune.
digi24 · about 7 hours ago
Low water on Germanys Rhine river threatens new blow to economy
bluesky_Euractiv · about 7 hours ago
Man suspected of starting a recent fire that destroyed 800 structures in the US Northwest has confessed to planning his actions and to setting two dozen other blazes since 2025, police say u.afp.com/SHN3
bluesky_AFP English · about 7 hours ago
Abkühlung für alle Fahrgäste: BVG plant komplett klimatisierte Tram-Flotte – ab 2032 Schwitzen in der Straßenbahn? Die BVG will ab 2032 endlich Abkühlung für alle Fahrgäste – auch für die Fahrer. Mehr als hundert Straßenbahnen ohne Klimaanlage sind derzeit noch im Betrieb.
tagesspiegel · about 7 hours ago
Man killed in fire in Rotterdam apartment building A man died in a fire in an apartment building on Watertorenweg in Rotterdam on Thursday night.
nltimes.nl · about 7 hours ago
Earth, Wind & Fire stelt concert met Richie uit om medische reden De band Earth, Wind & Fire heeft een gepland concert met Lionel Richie in San Francisco uitgesteld vanwege een medische noodsituatie bij een van de bandleden. Dat maakte de Amerikaanse band donderdag bekend via Instagram.
rtl nieuws · about 7 hours ago
Wohnungslose in Deutschland: Wohnungslosenhilfe warnt vor lebensgefährlichen Folgen extremer Hitze Ohne Wasser, Schatten und kühle Räume seien auf der Straße lebende Menschen der Hitze schutzlos ausgeliefert, warnt die Wohnungslosenhilfe. Viele seien zudem vorerkrankt.
die zeit · about 7 hours ago
Most water supply restoration work in Dnipropetrovsk region completed – Minister #UkraineMost water supply restoration ...
mastodon bot · about 7 hours ago
Italy places all major cities on red alert as new heatwave grips Europe Italys health ministry placed 27 cities, from Trieste in the countrys northeast to Palermo in Sicily, on red alert ahead of the weekend as a blistering heatwave across much of Europe disrupted energy and transportation systems in several countries.
france24 · about 8 hours ago
Todays weather: Sunny, rain in the mountains On Friday, it will be mostly clear, with increased cloudiness in the early afternoon in some areas, which may lead to isolated showers in the higher mountains. Temperatures will rise to 40 degrees Celsius inland, around 31 degrees on the southwest and west coasts, around 34 degrees on the rest of the coasts and 30 […]
cyprus mail · about 8 hours ago
Feds sacrifice rare fish in Colorado River to save power for millions Federal officials will not be releasing water from one of the Colorado Rivers major reservoirs
independent · about 8 hours ago
North Macedonias Sweltering Capital Needs Green Fixes for Urban Heat Islands Surveys of temperature levels in North Macedonias capital Skopje suggest more trees and climate-conscious urban planning could significantly reduce the toll on public health during heatwaves - but practical implementation is moving slowly.
balkaninsight · about 8 hours ago
Mildes Sommerwetter: Angenehme Temperaturen in Berlin und Brandenburg erwartet Zum Wochenende kühlt es in Berlin und Brandenburg ab. Der DWD rechnet mit milden Temperaturen und meist trockenem Wetter – den nächsten Temperaturanstieg bringt der Samstag.
tagesspiegel · about 8 hours ago
Adnkronos - ultimoratop: Caldo record, i temporali non bastano: estate infernale fino a oltre Ferragosto, le previsioni(Adnkronos) - Nella fornace non solo lItalia, ma Europa, dicono i meteorologiRecord heat, storms arent enough: hellish summer until well beyond August 15th, forecasts.(Adnkronos) – Not only Italy, but Europe, say the meteorologists.#Italy #Europe
mastodon bot · about 8 hours ago
Focus: Europes would-be water bombers in race to tackle future wildfires reut.rs/45R1P9H
bluesky_Reuters · about 8 hours ago
Ze boekten Basel, maar kregen Dordrecht door laag water: Een avontuur Door de extreme droogte kunnen cruiseschepen in Duitsland niet verder varen, vanwege laag water. En dus kiezen cruisemaatschappijen andere bestemmingen voor hun reizigers. Dat maakt het een stuk drukker in Dordrecht, waar ze nog wel kunnen aanleggen.
rtl nieuws · about 8 hours ago
Drought drives up Dutch energy bills as power companies get less access to cooling water Energy prices in the Netherlands are increasing due to power plants in Eastern Europe having less access to cooling water.
nltimes.nl · about 8 hours ago
Record-high heat soars through South Korea A record-high heatwave is sweeping through the Korean Peninsula, sending temperatures skyrocketing, reaching 42.5C.
aljazeera · about 8 hours ago
How Europes drought exposes weakness of fossil fuels as Poland forced to shut down coal plants Poland has been forced to reduce output on its coal-fired power plants following critically low water levels in the Vistula River.
euronews · about 8 hours ago
North Korea touts dog soup and other home-cooked recipes to beat the heat. The Korean peninsula is sweltering through a record-hot summer with South Korea seeing new all-time highs last week, peaking at 42.5C on Sunday u.afp.com/SHNc
bluesky_AFP English · about 8 hours ago
Weekend weather: Sunshine in the south, wet and windy up north Highs of 22 degrees Celsius are expected in the south on Saturday.
yle.fi · about 8 hours ago
The Danube Rivers water is dropping so low that World War II ships are emerging
gdeltproject.org · about 8 hours ago
Brände: 50 Menschen retten sich bei Hochhausbrand in Lichtenberg Im Müllraum eines Hochhauses in Berlin-Lichtenberg bricht Feuer aus - 50 Menschen können ins Freie fliehen. Darunter sind auch Kinder.
tagesspiegel · about 8 hours ago
Thermal images of people and traffic in Seoul illustrate a searing heatwave baking the South Korean capital. In the past week, new all-time high temperatures were set three times, with the mercury peaking at 42.5C on Sunday
bluesky_AFP English · about 8 hours ago
⚡️🇺🇸 – The man arrested for starting the Old Trails fire, one of the three fires that burnt through Spokane and forced tens of thousands of evacuations, planned to start the fire for weeks, police say. ▶️ The man, identified as Aaron Farinacci, planned the blaze and researched the weather to find an optimal date to start it: dry, with strong winds and low humidity. ▶️ He also confessed to starting other minor fires last week and last month, so now he faces five first-degree arson charges. @GeoPWatch
telegram_GeoPWatch · about 8 hours ago
La câte grade trebuie setat frigiderul. Temperatura care păstrează alimentele în siguranță și poate reduce consumul de energie Temperatura la care este reglat frigiderul are un rol esențial în păstrarea alimentelor în condiții de siguranță și în limitarea consumului de energie. O valoare prea ridicată poate favoriza dezvoltarea microorganismelor, în timp ce o răcire excesivă poate afecta calitatea unor produse prin înghețare.
digi24 · about 8 hours ago