Italy placed all 27 cities in its national heat surveillance network under the highest red alert on Thursday, August 6, as temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius spread across parts of Europe. The Associated Press reported that the same heatwave set an Austrian national record, intensified drought and wildfires, and disrupted energy and transport systems from Central Europe to the Mediterranean.
The Italian Health Ministry says its system monitors cities from Trieste in the northeast to Palermo in Sicily and identifies weather conditions that threaten health. A red alert means the heat poses a risk to the whole population, not only older people, children and those with chronic illnesses. Officials advised residents and visitors to avoid direct sun during the hottest hours, remain indoors when possible and drink water regularly.
Tourism authorities extended evening opening at Rome landmarks including the Colosseum and Pantheon, while cooling mist fans and additional medical points were installed at the Colosseum. The measures reflect the pressure on cities where stone surfaces, dense development and heavy summer tourism can magnify exposure, even as millions of residents also face increased demand for cooling and medical support.
GeoSphere Austria recorded 41.2 degrees Celsius at Bad Deutsch-Altenburg near the Slovak border on Wednesday, the highest temperature measured in Austria. The weather service also reported that national rainfall from January through June was 27 percent below the long-term average, with parts of the east receiving only half their usual precipitation. Climatologist Alexander Orlik said some areas had not experienced comparable dryness since 1885.
Drought also reduced water levels on the Danube. In Hungary, operators cut output at the country’s only nuclear power plant to about 10 percent of normal because the facility depends on river water for cooling, according to AP. Authorities asked households and major industrial users to conserve electricity during evening peaks, restricted freight trains at those hours and turned off decorative lighting in Budapest. Germany warned that shrinking rivers were challenging shipping, industry and logistics.
Europe has warmed more than twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. Scientists say human-caused warming is making prolonged heat and associated drought more frequent and intense. The latest alerts show that governments must manage immediate health risks while adapting power grids, waterways, transport networks and tourist sites to increasingly severe summer conditions.
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