Italy's latest heatwave peaks with 18 cities on red alert

(ANSA) - ROME, JUL 21 - Italy's third major heatwave of the year is peaking on Tuesday, when the number of major Italian cities that the health ministry has on red alert rose from 17 on Monday to 18. Cagliari joined Bari, Campobasso, Catania, Civitavecchia, Florence, Frosinone, Genoa, Latina, Messina, Naples, Palermo, Perugia, Pescara, Reggio Calabria, Rieti, Rome and Viterbo on maximum alert on Tuesday. The heat is forecast to relent somewhat on Wednesday, when the number of red-alert cities will fall to seven: Cagliari, Catania, Messina, Naples, Palermo, Reggio Calabria and Rome. The health ministry monitors 27 major cities for its warnings. The red warning (Level 3) indicates a heatwave emergency with prolonged heat and a high general risk to health, even for young people in good health. All of this year's heatwaves have been linked to a number of deaths and they have also caused problems for business, especially agriculture. Scientists say the climate crisis caused by human greenhouse gas emissions is making extreme weather events such as heatwaves, droughts, supercharged storms and flooding more frequent and more intense. Although there are many sources of the greenhouse gases that are causing global heating, the main driver is the burning of fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal, sales of which generate huge profits for the world's energy giants. (ANSA).