22 cities across Italy on maximum red alert for heat on Wednesday.

Italy continues to experience scorching hot temperatures from north to south in the days leading up to Ferragosto, the national summer holiday on Thursday 15 August.

The Italian health ministry has issued a maximum "red alert" warning for 19 cities across Italy on Tuesday, rising to a record 22 cities on Wednesday, as the ongoing heatwave intensifies.

Italy's bollino rosso alert indicates emergency conditions with possible negative effects on not just the elderly, sick or very young, but also on healthy and active people.

Which cities will be affected?

The 19 Italian cities with red alert status on Tuesday 13 August are: Ancona, Bologna, Bolzano, Brescia, Cagliari, Campobasso, Florence, Frosinone, Genoa, Latina, Milan, Naples, Palermo, Perugia, Rieti, Rome, Turin, Trieste and Verona.

The red alert will remain in place for all of these cities on Wednesday 14 August, the eve of Ferrogosto, with the addition of three more - Bari, Venice and Viterbo - for a record 22 cities.

New report

The latest heat warnings coincide with the publication of a report documenting the deaths of more than 47,000 people in Europe due to heat in 2023.

The country hit the hardest was Italy, recording an estimated total of 12,743 heat-attributable deaths, according to the report by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal).

Italy has faced a series of heatwaves since June, with some central and southern areas of the country set to register temperatures above 40°C this week.

How to cope with the heat

The health ministry advises people to avoid exposure to the sun and outdoor activity in the middle of the day, to drink plenty of water, eat lightly, preserve their medication properly, and pay particular attention to the wellbeing of babies, children, the elderly and pets.

Tourists walking around Rome can avail themselves of the ubiquitous nasoni drinking fountains but should note that the city's historic fountains are off-limits, no matter how hot it gets.

For heatwave details, see the Italian health ministry website. Photo credit: Adam McCullough / Shutterstock.com.