Italy swelters as heatwave grips southern and western Europe

Italy kept all of its major cities under the highest heat alert as temperatures in many places were expected to climb to around 40C, with red warnings still covering much of southern and western Italy. The emergency-level forecast put health officials on notice as the country’s fourth heatwave of the summer intensified.

The heat was not stopping at Italy’s borders. BBC Weather said southern Europe, including Italy, Greece, France, Spain and Portugal, was under health and fire warnings, with temperatures expected to exceed 40C in some places over the weekend. Seville was forecast to hit 42C on Sunday, while Reuters said hot air from North Africa was spreading across the Balkans toward holiday destinations such as Croatia.

The pressure extends beyond discomfort. Red alerts are designed to warn hospitals, emergency services and city governments before heat illness rises sharply, and the pattern has already proved deadly: Reuters reported in 2025 that a European heatwave left eight people dead. Copernicus Climate Change Service said Western Europe saw its warmest June on record in 2025, reinforcing how far this summer sits from normal seasonal heat.

Power systems are also feeling the strain. Reuters said Italy sweltered as Hungary and Romania turned off the lights as Europe’s heatwave took its toll, a sign that electricity demand and supply were already under pressure well outside the peninsula. The same kind of stress can ripple through tourism and transport, especially in places like Croatia and Spain where summer travel peaks just as temperatures climb.

The timing is sharp because the heatwave is building ahead of the Aug. 12 total solar eclipse. France 24 said the eclipse will be visible across much of northern Spain and will be the first total solar eclipse visible from mainland Europe in 20 years, setting up a crowded public event in a region already facing dangerous heat. With health warnings in force and temperatures above 40C forecast across parts of southern Europe, local authorities will have to manage a rare astronomical spectacle in conditions more often associated with wildfire alerts and emergency medicine.

Italy’s heatwave is part of a wider European summer now defined by repeated extreme-temperature spikes, with the risks increasingly spreading from health systems to energy, travel and outdoor work.