The intense heatwave that has gripped Italy for over a week and has been linked to a number of deaths raged on on Wednesday.
    The health ministry has put 18 major cities on red alert because of the high temperatures – Ancona, Bologna, Bolzano, Brescia, Campobasso, Florence, Frosinone, Genoa, Latina, Milan, Palermo, Perugia, Rieti, Rome, Turin, Trieste, Verona and Viterbo.
    The number will rise to 20 on Friday with the addition of Venice and Pescara.
    When the health ministry puts a city on red alert it means the heat is so intense it is a threat to healthy people and not just vulnerable groups such as the sick and the elderly.
    A protocol on Italy’s heat emergency between the government, unions and employers to stop people having to work outside in the hottest hours of the day was signed at the labour ministry Wednesday and will be implemented with a subsequent decree.