Italy heatwave triggers red alert in Florence and orange alerts in 10 cities

A heatwave across Italy intensified on 8‑10 July 2026. On 8 July the Ministry of Health’s bulletin marked ten provincial capitals – Ancona, Bologna, Brescia, Florence, Milan, Perugia, Pescara, Turin, Venice and Verona – with an orange “heat‑risk” badge (level 2), indicating possible health effects for vulnerable groups. The same day ten other cities – Bari, Bolzano, Campobasso, Civitavecchia, Frosinone, Latina, Messina, Reggio Calabria, Rome and Trieste – received a yellow alert (level 1). Green alerts fell to seven cities.

For 9 July the alert escalated: Florence alone was placed under a red warning (level 3), the highest level signalling emergency conditions that could affect the general population as well as the elderly, children and those with chronic illnesses. Perugia, Pescara and Turin moved to orange, while the number of yellow‑alert cities rose to eighteen. Regional authorities in Tuscany issued a “code red” for the Maremma area, reinforcing health‑service readiness and suspending outdoor work when thermal stress indices were high.

Officials warned citizens to avoid the midday heat, stay hydrated and seek shade. In the southern Campania region, a brief cooling breeze kept Naples under a green badge, but experts cautioned that the third nationwide heatwave was expected to continue rising. «I modelli previsionali indicano che questa terza ondata di calore non dovrebbe fortunatamente raggiungere picchi di intensità estrema o record storici», said ministry forecasters, adding that «la situazione resterà sotto controllo nella maggior parte delle regioni meridionali».