Italy to Place All 27 of Its Major Cities Under the Country’s Highest Heat Alert

Italy will place all 27 of its major cities under the country’s highest heat alert Thursday, as the country suffers its fourth heat wave this summer. In France, the weather office announced July shattered national records as the hottest month since 1900, when temperature data was first collected. In Poland, a deepening drought has pushed major rivers to record lows while another heat wave is driving temperatures toward 40 degrees Celsius (about 104 degrees Fahrenheit) in the south. A hydrologist at Poland’s Institute of Meteorology and Water Management warns the country likely faces its worst drought in years. Pawel Staniszewski: “There is going to be a huge problem because the low level of the rivers is coming, is step of the next problems with agriculture, with factories, with infrastructure. … We’re not ready. The climate is changing very fast. Now in Poland the climate is like 30 years ago in Budapest, like in Hungary, so we should be to ready and prepare ourselves.” www.democracynow.org