A third severe heatwave of the season is intensifying across the Mediterranean, with national weather services forecasting extreme temperatures from North Africa to southern Europe. In Spain and Portugal, the state meteorological agency Aemet predicts highs of 43°C this week, while Italian forecasters expect 39–40°C in the Po Valley and Sardinia. Algeria’s meteorological office has issued warnings for northern wilayas, where temperatures may exceed 38°C, and Moroccan authorities report that the hot, dry Chergui wind could push readings to 48°C. The World Health Organization’s European regional director, Hans Kluge, warned on Tuesday that “further lethal weeks may lie ahead” and urged member states to strengthen heat-health response plans.

The current wave follows a June heatwave that health authorities across Europe have linked to a sharp rise in mortality. According to national public health agencies, France, the Netherlands and Belgium together recorded approximately 3,700 excess deaths during the last ten days of June. Spain’s health ministry reported at least 1,028 heat-related deaths in the same period. The WHO notes that fewer than half of its European member states possess national heat-health action plans, a gap that Kluge said must be addressed urgently.

In Italy, the health ministry placed ten cities—including Milan, Turin, Bologna and Florence—under an “orange” alert (level 2 of 3) for Wednesday, signalling elevated risk for vulnerable populations. Milan’s municipal authorities issued an ordinance requiring food-delivery platforms to reduce or suspend assignments during the hottest afternoon hours, from 12:30 to 16:00, until 23 September. Environmental monitoring groups report that prolonged heat and drought are also straining freshwater ecosystems: the lakes Maggiore, Como and Iseo have seen water levels drop sharply, while in the Adriatic lagoon of Scardovari, a sudden die-off of mussels and clams has been attributed by fishing cooperatives to water temperatures reaching 32°C.

Scientists from the World Weather Attribution network have concluded that the June heatwave would have been “virtually impossible” without human-caused climate change. The current event, driven by a subtropical anticyclone drawing hot air from the Sahara, is expected to persist well beyond mid-July, according to Italian meteorologists. Authorities across the affected regions continue to monitor the situation, and provisional mortality data for the ongoing heatwave remain unconfirmed.