News - Number of people hospitalized due to abnormal heat increases sharply in most popular Italy tourist cities

The number of people accessing emergency care for heat-related illnesses has risen sharply in some of Italy’s most popular tourist cities, reports The Guardian. Italy has been engulfed in consecutive heatwaves since around the middle of June. Some central and southern areas are expected to record temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius in the coming days. On Monday the health ministry placed 17 cities on red alert, meaning it is expected even healthy people could be at risk from the heat. People living in or visiting places on red alert are advised to avoid direct sunlight between 11am and 6pm. Fabio De Iaco, the president of the Italian society of emergency medicine, told Corriere della Sera that as the heat had intensified there had been a 20% rise in the number of people accessing emergency care for heat-related illnesses in cities including Rome, Florence, Venice, and Naples. In Rome, there have been cases of people fainting in the heat in St. Peter’s Square or while congregating at popular monuments such as the Trevi fountain.