The health ministry on Thursday had 17 of Italy's 27 biggest cities on red alert due to the danger posed by the high temperatures of the deadly heatwave that is baking Italy and much of Western Europe.

    On Thursday Bari joined 16 cities that were already on red alert - Ancona, Bologna, Bolzano, Brescia, Florence, Frosinone, Latina, Milan, Perugia, Pescara, Rieti, Rome, Turin, Venice, Verona and Viterbo.

Genoa will join the cities on maximum alert on Friday, taking the total up to 18.
    The heat is thought to have been behind the deaths of at least five people in Italy on Wednesday - two farmers in the Lodi and Piacenza areas, a worker near Padua, a homeless man in Naples, and a man who passed away at Garlasco cemetery.
    Palermo's courthouse on Thursday suspended hearings until June 29 because of the heat and problems with its air-conditioning.
    Florence's Uffizi Gallery, meanwhile, said it has extended a suspension of ticket sales imposed earlier this week until Sunday due to the heat and malfunctioning air conditioning systems, with only people with previous bookings allowed to enter.
    The health ministry's alert system has three levels in addition to level zero, green, meaning there is no alert.
    Level one, yellow, is pre-alert, while level two, orange, means the temperatures and weather conditions can pose health risks, especially for vulnerable groups such as the elderly and the ill.
    Level three, red, means the heat poses a risk to the health of the general population, not just vulnerable groups.
    Scientists say the climate crisis caused by human greenhouse gas emissions is making extreme weather events such as heatwaves, droughts, supercharged storms and flooding more frequent and more intense.
    Although there are many sources of the greenhouse gases that are causing global heating, the main driver is the burning of fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal, sales of which generate huge profits for the world's energy giants.
   

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