ROME - - Italy is currently enveloped in a 'bubble' of heat with temperatures of 37.8 degrees celsius and above for at least three consecutive days.

 The African anticyclone Charon is responsible, with the heat set to increase until July 19, as reported by iLMeteo.it.

 During the day and in the shade, temperatures could reach 38-39 degrees celsius in central-northern Italy, while Lazio will reach peaks of 42-43 degrees celsius, especially in Rome.

 But the most intense heat will affect the major islands and Puglia: peaks of up to 47 degrees celsius are expected in Sardinia in the southern inland areas, 45-46 degrees in Sicily and 44-45 degrees in Puglia.

 The heatwave will also bring so-called 'tropical nights', when temperatures never drop below 20 degrees celsius. 

 From North to South, the cities marked with the Ministry of Health's red sticker, indicating the maximum risk level for the entire population, are also on the rise: on Sunday there were 17 cities in the red, on Monday they rose to 20 and will reach 23 on Tuesday. 

 The only less scorching cities will be Bari, Catania, Civitavecchia, Milan, Reggio Calabria, Turin and Genoa.

 On July 19, however, out of 27 cities monitored only Milan and Reggio Calabria will be orange, while Bolzano and Genoa will have a yellow mark.

 The Ministry recommends that the regions activate the so-called 'heat code', i.e. a preferential and differentiated care path in the emergency rooms, to allow the heat wave to be dealt with more efficiently.

Yet Italian newspaper La Repubblica notes how, despite the hot temperatures, the Right in Italy, the US and the rest of Europe is underplaying the alarm on global warming.

 The week of extreme temperatures that is sweeping Italy could come close to the current record, both Italian and European, held by Sicily, near Syracuse, although it has not yet been confirmed: it was recorded on 11 August 2021 by the Sicilian Agrometeorological Information Service station in Contrada da Monasteri, where 48.8 degrees were reached.

 "The event, however, is still under examination by the World Meteorological Organisation for validation," Michele Brunetti, of the National Research Council's Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, told ANSA. If confirmed, this would be a new European record. 

 "Since 1800 in Italy, as well as in other Mediterranean countries, the rise in temperatures has been particularly pronounced, more so than in the rest of Europe, and the increase is accelerating," adds the Isac-Cnr researcher.

 He concludes: "This means that the current records are undoubtedly about to be broken.”

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