Extreme heat, 23 cities under red alert on Sunday: Naples on maximum alert

An exceptionally hot weekend opens the month of August and the first holiday departures. The heatwave bulletin released by the Ministry of Health indicates a progressive worsening: on Saturday, August 1st, 19 cities will be under red alert, while on Sunday, August 2nd, level 3 alert will affect 23 of the cities.
27 provincial capitals monitored.

The red dot indicates weather conditions that could have health effects not only for vulnerable people—the elderly, children, and the chronically ill—but also for the general population.

Maximum alert levels are in effect for Saturday in Bologna, Bolzano, Brescia, Cagliari, Campobasso, Civitavecchia, Florence, Frosinone, Latina, Milan, Naples, Perugia, Pescara, Rieti, Rome, Turin, Venice, Verona, and Viterbo.

Ancona, Bari, Catania, Genoa, Palermo, and Trieste are listed as orange, corresponding to level 2. Messina and Reggio Calabria are listed as yellow.

The situation will worsen on Sunday. In addition to Naples, the red alert will apply to Bologna, Bolzano, Brescia, Cagliari, Campobasso, Catania, Civitavecchia, Florence, Frosinone, Genoa, Latina, Milan, Palermo, Perugia, Pescara, Rieti, Rome, Turin, Trieste, Venice, Verona, and Viterbo.

The only cities outside the maximum alert level will be Ancona, Bari, and Messina, all in orange, and Reggio Calabria, in yellow.

The heat wave in Europe

The emergency isn't limited to Italy. A new and intense heat wave is affecting Central Europe, where temperatures could reach 41 degrees Celsius in the coming days.

Temperatures in Hungary are expected to reach 39 degrees Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit) on Friday, with temperatures between 40 and 41 degrees Celsius (104 and 106 degrees Fahrenheit) over the next week. The government has urged businesses to voluntarily reduce electricity consumption to avoid disruptions to the power grid. In Szentendre, thousands of residents were left without water, and the army intervened with water tankers and thousands of bags of water.

Slovakia is also on high alert, especially in the southwest of the country, with temperatures ranging between 34 and 39 degrees Celsius and a high risk of fires. In Bratislava, over 30 cooling stations have been activated, providing air conditioning, drinking water, and restrooms.

In Slovenia, the heat has prompted the railway operator Slovenske Zeleznice to reduce train speeds during the hottest hours, between noon and 19 p.m., to prevent track deformations. Furthermore, on the Slovenian Adriatic coast, sea temperatures could surpass the record high of 30,4 degrees Celsius recorded in 2010.

Temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius are also forecast in western Romania, while in Austria, temperatures could hover between 38 and 39 degrees Celsius until early next week. This surge comes amid a drought already raging: according to GeoSphere Austria, precipitation in the first seven months of 2026 was 30% below the seasonal average, making it the least rainy period since the early 20th century.