Heat wave in Italy and Balkans: Red alert in 22 cities, hundreds dead

Record temperatures in Italy and the Balkans have claimed hundreds of lives; firefighting efforts continue against wildfires, and experts say temperatures will remain 10 degrees above seasonal norms in the coming days.

Scraper SystemJune 30, 2026, 09:44 AM

Heat wave in Italy and Balkans: Red alert in 22 cities, hundreds dead

The extreme heat wave affecting Europe has paralyzed life in Italy and the Balkans, causing hundreds of deaths.

Italian authorities issued a red alert for 22 cities from Bolzano to Palermo in southern Sicily. At the Vatican, during his Angelus message for the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, Pope Leo saw pilgrims trying to cool down with fans and umbrellas.

Croatia declared a red alert for the capital Zagreb and the tourist cities of Split and Dubrovnik. Dozens of firefighters, supported by four aircraft, battled a fire that engulfed pine forests on the island of Vis in the Adriatic. In Albania, a fire that reduced olive groves and bushes near the village of Klos to ashes was brought under control.

Luca Mercalli, head of the Italian Meteorological Society, said extreme temperatures increase the risk of wildfires, but regional downpours balance the risk. Italian Air Force meteorologist Daniele Mocio stressed that temperatures will remain 8 to 10 degrees above seasonal norms in the coming days.

After a month of record-breaking temperatures in June, some relief is expected in Western Europe, but Mercalli announced a new heat wave is expected starting July 5-6 to affect France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced that more than 1,300 deaths linked to extreme heat have been recorded across the continent since June 21. In France, 1,000 additional deaths associated with the heat were reported; most victims were elderly. Funeral homes in and around Paris are struggling to cope with the high number of incoming bodies, and authorities fear the death toll will rise.

Scientists said a heat wave of this magnitude would have been "almost impossible" without human-caused climate change. According to research, current extreme nighttime temperatures are 100 times more likely due to climate change than they were two decades ago.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in a statement on his X account, warned that Europe is warming at twice the global average, adding, "Heat stress is often called the 'silent killer'. Europe's homes, workplaces and schools were not built for these temperatures."

Heat wave in Italy and Balkans: Red alert in 22 cities, hundreds dead