Italy's cities on highest heat alert as new wave grips country

Italy is placing nearly all of its major cities under the highest alert for heat from Monday, as a fresh heatwave grips the country, authorities said on Saturday, according to The Local Italy.

Some 19 major Italian cities, including Rome, Milan and Naples, are already on red alert, and by Monday all but two will be, the BBC reported.

The alert covers the urban centres where the elderly and the vulnerable are most exposed, but the heat is also pressing on the agricultural and industrial regions that sustain the Italian economy.