Italy's current heatwave is set to be the longest of the four to have hit the country so far this year and climate change is making such periods of intense heat longer and closer together, Lorenzo Giovannini, an atmospheric physicist for the University of Trento, told ANSA on Tuesday.
    The heatwave is forecast to continue at least until August 17, by which time it will have lasted 20 days.
    Italy had its first heatwave of the year during the spring, in May, and that lasted eight-nine days.
    After 18 days of normal temperatures, it was followed by the second wave, which lasted for 12-13 days, from June 18 to 30.
    Then came another period of respite, but this time lasting about a week, and on July 7-8 the third wave began, with persistent heat for 13-14 days, until July 20.

The fourth heatwave began on July 29.
    "Heatwaves used to come from the northward movement of the African anticyclone, and things would return to normal when the Azores High came into play," Giovannini said.
    "But now, we see that the African anticyclone has, on average, shifted further north than it once was, and it's therefore easier for this structure, which brings very warm air from North Africa, to engulf Italy for a longer period." Giovannini added that, while the dynamics of this phenomenon "are still being studied," it's likely that Italy will be permanently fall within the African anticyclone's zone of influence because of the climate crisis.
    At the moment 19 of the 27 major cities that the Italian health ministry monitors for its heat warnings are on the maximum red alert - Bari, Bologna, Bolzano, Campobasso, Catania, Civitavecchia, Florence, Frosinone, Genoa, Latina, Messina, Naples, Palermo, Perugia, Pescara, Reggio Calabria, Rieti, Rome and Viterbo.
    Pescara will drop two notches to yellow on Thursday, taking the total down to 18.
    For the first time ever, all 27 were on red last Thursday, although subsequent storms brought the temperatures down slightly in much of northern Italy.
    The red warning (Level 3) indicates a heatwave emergency with prolonged heat and a high general risk to health, even for young people in good health.
    Experts have estimated that this summer's above-average heat could cause between 5,000 and 7,000 deaths more than normal.
    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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