Italy issues red heat warnings as Europe’s heatwave intensifies

Italy’s health ministry kept red high-temperature warnings in place across much of southern and western Italy through Saturday, putting 27 cities from Trieste in the northeast to Palermo in Sicily on its highest alert. Officials urged residents to stay indoors, avoid direct sunlight and drink plenty of fluids as the heat settled over the country.

The warnings landed as a broader European heatwave gathered strength, with temperatures expected to rise further and western and central Europe heading into the hottest stretch of the summer through mid-August. Italy had already placed all of its major cities under the top heat category earlier in the week, underscoring how quickly the surge had spread across the peninsula.

The strain was not limited to public health. The heatwave was disrupting energy and transportation systems in several countries, and the pressure on infrastructure was visible beyond Italy’s borders. Austria set a heat record, while Hungary and Romania cut power as the same weather pattern took a toll across central Europe.

That matters because the hottest weather was arriving just as a rare astronomical event was about to pull more people outdoors. On August 12, a total solar eclipse would be visible across much of northern Spain, the first total eclipse seen from mainland Europe in 20 years. The timing raised the risk that travelers, sightseers and event organizers would be dealing with peak summer temperatures at the same moment crowds were gathering outside.

The overlapping hazards reflect the new operating environment for European authorities: extreme heat now collides with tourism, public events and the normal August movement of people across borders. In Italy, the red alerts covered a broad north-south span, from Trieste to Palermo, while the wider continent braced for the most intense part of a short but severe heatwave.