Number of major cities on heatwave red alert to rise to 19 Saturday

The health ministry said Thursday that the number of cities with red warnings for extreme heat will rise to 19 on Saturday. On Thursday 15 of the 27 major cities the health ministry monitors for its warnings were on maximum alert - Turin, Brescia, Genoa, Bologna, Florence, Perugia, Viterbo, Rieti, Rome, Frosinone, Latina, Pescara, Campobasso, Cagliari and Palermo. Milan will join them on Friday, taking the total up to 16, and then Ancona, Civitavecchia and Catania will be bumped up to red alert on Saturday. The red warning (Level 3) indicates a heatwave emergency with prolonged heat and a high general risk to health, even for young people in good health. Italy is enduring its third major heatwave of the year. Scientists say the climate crisis caused by human greenhouse gas emissions is mak