Italy is currently grappling with a brutal heatwave that has claimed the lives of at least two people in the central and southern regions, as the country faces record-high temperatures.
The scorching heat has intensified, making everyday life unbearable and putting people’s health at serious risk.
The latest victims of this heatwave include a construction worker and an elderly woman. Earlier today, two workers who were involved in road resurfacing outside the city of Vicenza lost consciousness due to the extreme heat. They were rushed to a nearby hospital, where one of the workers was put on a ventilator and remains in a coma.
In Palermo, Sicily, an elderly woman who had been suffering from heart failure collapsed and died from a heart attack while walking on the street. The heat is believed to have exacerbated her condition.
Just yesterday, a 47-year-old construction worker in Bologna also succumbed to the heat, dying while working on a construction site.
Power outages in Bergamo and Florence
The heatwave has also resulted in widespread power outages in major cities, with Florence and Bergamo both experiencing blackouts. The outages were largely caused by the overwhelming demand for air conditioning, both in businesses and residential areas, as people tried to escape the unbearable temperatures.
New measures to combat the heat
In response to the escalating health risks, the Piedmont region, with Turin as its capital, has implemented new measures to protect workers. Starting today, outdoor work under direct sunlight is banned between 12:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., in line with a similar decision made earlier by the Lombardy region. Other Italian regions are expected to follow suit in the coming days.
Meanwhile, the Naples region and Calabria have decided to boost staff at the emergency departments of public hospitals, as the number of heat-related incidents has surged in recent days.
