Italian hospitals in the regions worst hit by soaring temperatures are seeing a jump in heat-related emergencies, medics said on Wednesday.
Temperatures remained exceptionally high across much of the country a day after record highs were recorded in a number of cities, including the capital Rome.
Lazio region, which is centred on Rome, saw a 20% increase in medical emergencies on Wednesday against the same day last year because of the heat, including an upsurge in respiratory and heart ailments, a senior official said.
"What we are also noticing, linked to the heat, is an increase in admissions for psychiatric pathologies ... even suicidal tendencies," said Giulio Maria Ricciuto, head of the Italian Society of Emergency Medicine (SIMEU) in Lazio.
Fabio De Iaco, national head of SIMEU, told state radio RAI that between 15-25% of all emergency admissions across Italy were linked to the heat in this period, with that figure rising in the hottest areas.
In the southern city of Naples, the Cardarelli hospital said 231 patients were admitted to its emergency unit on Tuesday - the highest daily number since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. A further 219 patients needed emergency care on Wednesday.
"Over the last nine days, the average has been 200 patients a day ... an increase of around 30% in the (normal) number of admissions," the hospital said.
San Donato Hospital in Arezzo, a city in the central region of Tuscany, said it had seen a 10% increase in emergency room admissions in the past four or five days.
"These are mainly elderly people ... but we have also had several non-professional athletes who had gone jogging despite the heat," said Maurizio Zanobetti, the director of Emergency Medicine at the hospital.
Temperatures lurched higher across central and southern Italy early last week, with the heatwave stretching further north this week.
Red weather alerts were issued on Wednesday for 23 out of Italy's 27 largest cities, but forecasters say the situation should ease in the coming days, with 18 cities placed on high alert for Thursday and Friday.
