A dispatch from the highest health authority, reported by the specialized digital news site Meteo Giornale, notes that the highest degree of emergency applies this Thursday to the cities of Bologna, Florence, Frosinone, Latina, Campobasso, Pescara, Perugia, Rieti, Rome and Viterbo.

This high level of precaution was determined in view of possible adverse effects on the health of healthy and active people, and not only in risk subgroups such as the elderly, very young children and individuals with chronic diseases, which can lead to death.

The orange label, for the maximum risk level, is maintained to this day only for the most fragile population, in the Sicilian towns of Catania and Messina, in the south of the country.

In yellow alert are 13 cities, including Ancona, Bolzano, Brescia, Cagliari, Civitavecchia, Genoa, Milan, Naples, Palermo, Reggio Calabria, Venice, Trieste and Turin, a level that does not require immediate action, but indicates that probable conditions could pose a health risk in the coming days.

According to recent reports, 61,672 people died last year in Europe as a result of heat waves and the highest number of deaths occurred in Italy, with more than 18,000.

As a precautionary measure, companies were advised to avoid sending employees to work outside their offices between noon and 5:00 p.m. local time for the next two weeks, and some summer camps for children were closed.

In cities with larger numbers of tourists such as Rome, “cooling stations” were set up near major attractions, including tents, free water and health care officials available to deal with heat stroke, the source added.

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