Heat alert, temperatures nearly hit 45 degrees: Italy hotter than the Maghreb. Thunderstorms in Sardinia.

Boiling temperatures yesterday in Genoa, with a perceived 45 degrees Celsius , and in Florence . Milan and Rome were hotter than Algiers, Tunis, and Rabat: Italy overtook North Africa and continues to gasp under the pressure of the anticyclone that, from the heart of the Sahara, is expanding toward France and central-northern Italy. Boiling temperatures yesterday in Genoa, with a perceived 45 degrees Celsius, and in Florence. A scorching bubble is also reaching England. In Spain and Portugal, there is a heat and fire emergency. Fires are also raging in Albania and on the Greek island of Zakynthos. In some cases, evacuations of homes and hotels were necessary.

The heat alert is increasing in the days leading up to Ferragosto (August 15th), according to the Ministry of Health's updated heatwave bulletin . And precisely because of the excessively high temperatures, the Pope's general audience today, Wednesday the 13th, will be moved indoors to the Paul VI Hall.

Scorching heat (Ansa)

Scorching heat (Ansa)

Scorching heat (Ansa)

Top red dots: 16 red dots today, Wednesday, August 13, out of 27 monitored cities. Bologna, Bolzano, Brescia, Florence, Frosinone, Latina, and Turin are under red dots for all three days. Milan, Perugia, Rieti, Rome, Campobasso, Genoa, Venice, Verona, and Viterbo are also under red dots. Today, only one orange dot (Trieste) and four yellow ones (Naples, Palermo, Civitavecchia, and Ancona) remain.

But sultry heat and temperatures above 40 degrees are gripping all of Italy , with tropical nights and a few welcome exceptions, such as the 6 green warnings forecast for Wednesday: Pescara, Reggio Calabria, Messina, Catania, Bari and Cagliari.

According to an analysis by meteo.it, our country has seen numerous temperature peaks compared to those recorded in Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia.

Milan: Tropical Nights . Over the past three days, Milan has seen lows of 27°C, an almost supertropical level (nights with lows never falling below 30°C), and highs of 37°C. The capital city was less scorching at night, with lows around 23-24°C but similar highs, around 36-38°C. "In Algiers, on the other hand, lows dropped to 21°C at night and highs climbed, at most, to 34°C, as did Tunis. The Moroccan capital, Rabat, located along the ocean coast, struggled to exceed 30-33°C," says meteo.it.

In Liguria , where high temperatures are recorded throughout the region, emergency rooms are monitored "but not under pressure," says Regional Health Councilor Massimo Nicolò, emphasizing that the persistent heat increases the risks, especially for the elderly and vulnerable. He reiterates his call to residents to follow common sense rules: avoid going out and exercising during the hottest hours, drink regularly and eat healthily, avoiding alcohol and carbonated drinks, store medications properly, and only adjust their dosages after consulting with your doctor. Mayor Sara Funaro offers the same advice, describing the city as "under maximum alert" and noting that climate shelters are active in the Tuscan capital, a map of which can be found at www.comune.firenze.it. Naples, after the heatwave, was hit by a severe thunderstorm, with rain mixed with large hailstones.

Spain on fire. In addition to our cities, Spain is also dealing with the heatwave, especially in Andalusia and the Basque Country. Yesterday, temperatures reached 44 degrees Celsius in four provinces, while wildfires are under threat, with a man dying from burns sustained in a fire just outside Madrid. The situation is also serious in Portugal, where the government has requested Canadair aircraft from Morocco.

Heatmap of the Mediterranean produced by the Copernicus programme (Copernicus)

57,000 hectares of land and forests have burned in Italy.

Since the beginning of the year, Coldiretti reports, nearly 57,000 hectares of land and forests have burned in Italy . And, compared to 2024, if current averages continue, the number of hectares burned by year-end could increase by approximately 5%. Compared to the average of the last 20 years, the number of hectares burned in Italy has increased by almost 60%.

Bad weather in Sardinia, yesterday a wave of thunderstorms

Things are different on the island: a low-pressure system is currently rapidly moving across Sardinia . As announced in the weather alert valid until yesterday evening, brief but intense showers are possible in the central and western areas.

This is what happened in Iglesias, where the regional rain gauge recorded 29.40 mm of rain in just a few minutes. A violent thunderstorm hit the town. The rain was joined by hail and wind. The storm also caused some damage, including broken branches and flooded streets and basements. Power lines were also down in the Palmari neighborhood until technicians intervened to restore them.