Italy's fourth heatwave threatens elderly in Abruzzo's mountain villages

Italy is bracing for its fourth heatwave of the summer, with forecasters warning that temperatures could reach 41C in several cities from Wednesday and that the hot spell could stretch all the way to the Ferragosto holiday on August 15, according to The Local Italy. The heatwave is expected to bring red alert warnings to multiple regions, with cities including Ferrara, Bologna, Florence and Rome forecast to hit the highest temperatures.

The extreme heat is part of a pattern that has made this summer one of the hottest on record across southern Europe. Wildfires fuelled by similar conditions have been burning across large areas of France and Spain in recent weeks, as the Guardian reported, and Italian authorities have issued repeated heat health warnings.