Italy's heatwave set to peak on Friday, with 20 cities on red alert.Italy remains in the grip of a scorching heatwave which is making life difficult for workers and has led to a surge in heat-related hospital admissions as well as several deaths.The Italian health ministry has issued a maximum red alert heat warning for 20 cities on Friday, dropping to 15 cities on Saturday as the country prepares for thunderstorms. The red alert (bollino rosso) indicates emergency conditions with a risk of negative effects on the elderly, sick or very young, as well as healthy and active people. The Italian government on Wednesday introduced measures to protect workers during the extreme heat, after more than half of Italy's regions introduced limits on outdoor work during the hottest time of the day. The measures affect those working on roads, in quarries and on construction sites as well as employees in the agriculture and horticulture sectors. The excessive heat has led to walkouts in factories and warehouses and is also causing problems in Italy's prisons.  The heatwave has led to the deaths of several people including a construction worker near Bologna, two men on beaches in Sardinia, and a 22-year-old woman who died after working out in a gym near Turin with no air conditioning. Tourism has also been affected by the heat, with the Royal Palace of Caserta forced to close early due to a blackout, while the Duomo in Milan has set up a medical facility after a tourist fell ill while visiting on Wednesday. The heat has also melted asphalt on roads, creating traffic problems and leading to the extended closure of part of the A4 Venice-Milan motorway. Wildfires have broken out on the island of Sardinia, in the southern Campania region and around Rome, including near Fiumicino airport. Several opera singers and dancers fainted or became unwell while performing wearing heavy costumes during the Arena opera festival in Verona this week, prompting management to introduce heart rate monitors worn under the performers' clothes. There have been power cuts in Italian cities, including Florence, Milan and Rome, due to overheated electricity cables and a surge in demand for air conditioning. Temperatures are set to reach peaks close to 40-41°C in some areas of Italy on Friday before the arrival of violent storms this weekend. Mattia Gussoni, a meteorologist from the weather forecast website www.iLMeteo.it, said the peak of the intense heat is expected on Friday. Temperatures are set to rise well above averages with maximum peaks above 37-38°C, especially on the plains of the north, inland areas of Sardinia and Sicily (where temperatures could exceed 41°C) and in central Italy (39°C in Florence and Rome), Gussoni told news agency ANSA. For heatwave updates see Italy's health ministry website. Photo credit: Massimo Todaro / Shutterstock.com.

Italy remains in the grip of which is making life difficult for workers and has led to a surge in heat-related hospital admissions as well as several deaths. The Italian health ministry has issued a maximum red alert heat warning for 20 cities on Friday, dropping to 15 cities on Saturday as the country prepares for thunderstorms. The red alert (bollino rosso) indicates emergency conditions with a risk of negative effects on the elderly, sick or very young, as well as healthy and active people. The Italian government on Wednesday introduced during the extreme heat, after more than half of Italy's regions introduced during the hottest time of the day. The measures affect those working on roads, in quarries and on construction sites as well as employees in the agriculture and horticulture sectors. The excessive heat has led to walkouts in factories and warehouses and is also causing problems in Italy's prisons.  The heatwave has led to the deaths of several people including a construction worker near Bologna, two men on beaches in Sardinia, and a 22-year-old woman who died after working out in a gym near Turin with no air conditioning. Tourism has also been affected by the heat, with the Royal Palace of Caserta forced to close early due to a blackout, while the Duomo in Milan has set up a medical facility after a tourist fell ill while visiting on Wednesday. The heat has also melted asphalt on roads, creating traffic problems and leading to the extended closure of part of the A4 Venice-Milan motorway. Wildfires have broken out on the island of Sardinia, in the southern Campania region and , including near Fiumicino airport. Several opera singers and dancers fainted or became unwell while performing wearing heavy costumes during the Arena opera festival in Verona this week, prompting management to introduce heart rate monitors worn under the performers' clothes. There have been , including Florence, Milan and Rome, due to overheated electricity cables and a surge in demand for air conditioning. Temperatures are set to reach peaks close to 40-41°C in some areas of Italy on Friday before the arrival of violent storms this weekend. Mattia Gussoni, a meteorologist from the weather forecast website www.iLMeteo.it, said the peak of the intense heat is expected on Friday. Temperatures are set to rise well above averages with maximum peaks above 37-38°C, especially on the plains of the north, inland areas of Sardinia and Sicily (where temperatures could exceed 41°C) and in central Italy (39°C in Florence and Rome), Gussoni told news agency ANSA. For heatwave updates see Italy's . Photo credit: Massimo Todaro / Shutterstock.com.