Seven people were killed in Italy by violent storms in the north and wildfires in the south, which could lead the government to declare a state of emergency in the hardest-hit regions.
There have been calls for the Colosseum to be closed to tourists during the hottest hours amid reports of "70 to 80" visitors per day falling ill in the extreme heat.
Italian officials held crisis talks on Monday over how to manage blackouts in Sicily that have left hundreds of thousands of people without electricity and water for days during a searing heatwave.
Italian cities “have no long-term future” as tourist destinations because they’re becoming too hot, Germany’s health minister said as he described intense heat while visiting Italy on holiday.
As international media publish hair-raising stories of “heatwave hell” for holidaymakers in Italy, people planning to visit in the coming weeks may wonder if there’s really that much cause for concern.
Hailstones "as big as tennis balls" battered the regions of Veneto and Lombardy while a tornado hit Milan as the intense heatwave began to retreat overnight and on Friday morning.
Several Italian cities, including Rome, were left in the dark on Wednesday as power usage in the country soared to a record high amid sizzling temperatures.
Italian health authorities issued the highest-level heat warnings for almost all of Italy’s cities as the ferocious heatwave sweeping the country intensifies.
Italy was braced for historic high temperatures in the coming days after the health ministry issued a red alert for 16 cities including Rome, Bologna and Florence.
Italy's heatwave is set to get even more intense over the weekend with the number of major cities on red alert rising to 16 on Sunday, the health ministry said.
As a fierce heatwave descends on Italy this week, the whole country is expecting high temperatures - but some areas will see far more extreme heat than others.
Temperatures in parts of Italy will near the European heat record as a ferocious “three-headed” heatwave named Cerberus descends on the country, meteorologists said.
More than 61,000 people died due to the heat during Europe's record-breaking summer last year, a study said on Monday which called for more to be done to protect against even deadlier heatwaves expected in the coming years.
Italy's health ministry issued extreme heat warnings for 14 cities on Thursday, with temperatures of up to 40C forecast in some parts of the country this week.
Europe should brace for more deadly heatwaves driven by climate change, according to a sweeping new report that said the world's fastest-warming continent was some 2.3 degrees Celsius hotter last year than in pre-industrial times.
The summer of 2022 was the hottest in Europe's recorded history, with the continent suffering blistering heatwaves and the
worst drought in centuries, the European Commission's satellite monitor said on Thursday.
Italy's health authorities are issuing new weather warnings for extreme heat - but will August bring record-breaking temperatures? Here's what's forecast for the coming weeks.
