TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A severe heat wave gripping Italy has claimed five lives and prompted authorities to expand its maximum heat warning to 18 cities for Friday, June 26, up from 17 on Thursday, June 25.
Among the fatalities were two farmers in the northern provinces of Lodi and Piacenza, a homeless individual in Naples, and a man who collapsed at a cemetery in Garlasco near Pavia in the Lombardy region, ANSA news agency reported.
Italy continues to endure extremely high temperatures that are currently baking large parts of the country.
The decision to escalate warnings followed a Thursday meeting of a technical committee led by Health Minister Orazio Schillaci to iron out emergency measures to combat the extreme weather.
Genoa is the latest city placed under a red alert, joining Rome, Milan, Florence, Venice, Turin, Bologna, Bari, Ancona, Bolzano, Brescia, Frosinone, Latina, Perugia, Pescara, Rieti, Verona, and Viterbo.
A red alert indicates weather conditions severe enough to pose an immediate health risk not just to vulnerable groups like the elderly, young children, and the chronically ill, but to healthy individuals as well.
The heat wave is also taking a toll on cultural landmarks and public infrastructure. The Uffizi Gallery in Florence announced that ticket sales will remain frozen until at least June 28 after a breakdown in its climate control system forced the museum to halt admissions.
The two-story Juliet's House, one of Verona's most popular tourist attractions, will shut its doors to visitors starting Friday, June 26, under the dual strain of the heat and overcrowding. Meanwhile, court hearings were suspended in the southern city of Palermo as indoor temperatures soared.
In Milan, tourists were seen clutching umbrellas and wielding hand fans, seeking whatever shade they could find near the fountains outside the city's iconic Duomo Cathedral.
Local media outlets also reported a 20 percent spike in emergency room admissions across the wider Lombardy region as the heat intensified.
Meteorologists warn that temperatures are expected to peak over the weekend. Italy is just one of several European nations currently grappling with an unseasonably hot start to the summer.
Read: European Heat Wave Is Not Normal Summer Weather
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