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Italy's fourth heat wave of the summer reached its peak Monday, with red alerts issued for a record 25 cities as temperatures exceeded 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in parts of the country, local media reported.
The Health Ministry raised the number of cities under its highest heat-risk warning from 23 on Sunday to 25 on Monday, the most recorded this summer, according to the Corriere della Sera newspaper.
Only Reggio Calabria and Messina, both in Italy's southern region near the Strait of Messina, were excluded from the red-alert list, though both remained under yellow warnings.
The Po Valley, a low-lying plain in northern Italy, and central Italy are bearing the brunt of the heat. At the same time, inland areas and the island of Sardinia could also see temperatures rise above 40°C.
In parts of central and northern Italy, overnight temperatures are expected to remain above 25°C, a pattern meteorologists describe as "super-tropical nights."
Temperatures reached 41°C in Terni, a city in the central Umbria region, on Sunday.
Experts attributed the extreme conditions to an African anticyclone and continued warming of the Mediterranean Sea, where surface temperatures have reached or exceeded 30°C across much of the basin.
Lorenzo Tedici, a meteorologist at iLMeteo.it, said the excess heat will fuel atmospheric instability, warning of strong afternoon thunderstorms across the Alps and the Apennines, the mountain range running the length of the Italian peninsula.
The Civil Protection Department issued yellow alerts for heavy rainfall along the Apennine range from Umbria to Calabria, in central and southern Italy, and in inland Sicily.
Tedici said the turning point that would end the hottest phase of summer 2026 is not expected until at least mid-August.
Authorities also warned of elevated wildfire risks, placing Sicily and Emilia-Romagna, a region in northern Italy, under orange alerts.
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