The health ministry has put Perugia
on red alert on Thursday due to high temperatures, with the heat
wave that has hit Italy set to escalate, and seven other cities
will join it on Friday - Frosinone, Latina, Rieti, Rome, Ancona,
Campobasso, Palermo and Perugia.
When an area is put on red alert, it means the heat is so
intense that it poses a risk to healthy, active people and not
just vulnerable groups such as the elderly, the sick and small
children.
The Italian Society of Environmental Medicine (SIMA), meanwhile,
on Wednesday sounded the alarm about the situation in Sicily,
where temperatures could reach 40°C in the provinces of
Agrigento and Siracusa and 39° in Catania and Ragusa this week.
"Excessive heat causes health problems as it can alter the
body's temperature-regulation system," said Sima President
Alessandro Miani.
"The human body cools down through sweating, but in certain
environmental conditions, this is not sufficient.
"Excessive humidity prevents sweat from evaporating, with body
heat increasing rapidly and this can damage vital organs and the
brain.
"Excessively high temperatures can cause mild ailments such as
cramps and fainting, but also serious problems, from congestion
to dehydration, worsening the health conditions of people with
pre-existing chronic pathologies".
The city of Naples had adopted a series of measures to help
homeless people cope with the heat wave.
These include granting access to public dormitories in the
afternoon so they can get off the street in the hottest hours of
the day.
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