The prolonged heatwave across Italy was set to intensify at the end of the week, with the number of cities on red alert rising from 14 on Thursday to 17 on Friday.
Bologna, Florence, Palermo and Rome were all under the highest-level alert on Thursday, with temperatures forecast to peak in the high 30s and to remain elevated at night.
The other cities on red alert on Thursday were Ancona, Campobasso, Frosinone, Latina, Perugia, Pescara, Rieti, Trieste and Viterbo.
The highest-level warning signifies a potential health risk to the general population, as well as to more vulnerable groups, according to the health ministry.
The cities of Bolzano, Bari, Brescia and Verona were set to join them on Friday, while every other part of the country was on a lower-level amber or yellow alert for extreme temperatures.
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Temperatures were forecast to reach 40°C in many parts of Puglia, Sicily and other southern Italian regions on Friday and into the weekend, according to weather website Ilmeteo.it.
Forecasters predicted temperatures would begin to fall from the weekend onward after much of Italy has been in the grip of a scorching heatwave for more than a week.
Storms were expected in many parts of northern Italy over the weekend with the heatwave set to break.
Health warnings have been repeatedly issued in recent weeks due to the risks posed by prolonged periods of intense heat, as well as high humidity levels.
IN MAPS: How hot will it get around Italy this week?
The Sicilian city of Palermo said it would begin rationing water as the island’s drought crisis worsened, while exceptionally hot and dry conditions also fuelled wildfires raging in many parts of the country.
A wildfire near the southern city of Matera claimed the lives of two firefighters on Wednesday as they worked to rescue a family from a house surrounded by flames.
Heatwaves are becoming more frequent and intense in Italy and across Europe, scientists say, due to the climate crisis mainly caused by human greenhouse gas emissions.
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