Italy's health ministry, in its latest heatwave bulletin published on Saturday, said that by Monday, 25 of the country's 27 major cities will be on the highest red alert. This was reported by infohub.kz.
The ministry expects only two cities — Reggio Calabria, located at the southern tip of Italy's "boot," and Messina, facing it across the Strait on the island of Sicily — to be on the second-highest "amber" alert.
The ministry urges residents in affected areas to avoid exposure to heat and direct sunlight during the hottest hours between 11:00 and 18:00, stay indoors, and drink plenty of fluids.
The extreme heat is being caused by a subtropical anticyclone from North Africa that is strengthening over the Mediterranean.
Meanwhile, firefighters in Greece, France, Portugal, and Spain are still battling blazes spanning thousands of hectares. In France's southeastern Var region, some 2,500 people were evacuated on Friday evening after a fire that had been contained for several days reignited. In the southwestern Gironde region, a massive fire is now under control, allowing some 200,000 evacuated residents to return to their homes.