Southern Europe will continue to swelter next week as an intense heatwave shows no sign of abating.
Italy, Spain and Greece have been experiencing high temperatures for several days already.
The Italian health ministry issued a red alert for 16 cities including Rome, Bologna and Florence for the weekend.
The heatwave is expected to continue well into next week, with 48C (118.4F) predicted in Sardinia, according to Italian media.
Some forecasters think temperatures in Sardinia could even rise above the European record high of 48.8C (119.8F), which was recorded in Sicily in August 2021.
The Italian weather service said the island will be at the “epicentre” of next week’s heatwave, which weather forecasters have dubbed Charon, after the ferryman who delivered souls into the underworld in Greek mythology.
Italy’s government has advised anyone in the areas covered by Saturday’s red alerts to avoid direct sunlight between 11:00 and 18:00, and to take particular care of the elderly or vulnerable.
Last month was the hottest June on record, according to the EU’s climate monitoring service Copernicus.
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