by InTrieste
As southern Italy prepares to enter a red alert heat warning this Saturday, temperatures across Italy are soaring in the country’s first major heatwave of the summer — and while much of the media attention remains focused on the south, residents in Friuli Venezia Giulia are quietly battling a heat surge of their own.
Trieste, the region’s capital perched between the Adriatic Sea and the Slovenian border, has seen a steady climb in temperatures, with forecasts predicting highs of 32°C (90°F) through the weekend. While Friuli Venezia Giulia has not yet been issued a formal health alert by the Ministry of Health, meteorologists and local officials are warning of potential risks as the heatwave, driven by a persistent African anticyclone, settles over much of the Italian peninsula.
“We’re seeing sustained heat, not just spikes,” said a meteorologist with the regional weather agency ARPA FVG. “The concern isn’t just the peak temperature but the fact that nights are not cooling down. That’s when the real health risks set in.”
The Italian Health Ministry has placed Rome, Perugia, and Bolzano on “bollino rosso” — or red alert — by the weekend, a designation that signals health risks not only for the elderly, chronically ill, and infants, but for healthy and active individuals as well. An orange alert, currently active in cities like Bologna and Florence, means medium-level risk for vulnerable populations.
While Trieste remains off the official alert lists, the lived experience tells another story. Locals have begun modifying routines: early morning shopping, shuttered windows by midday, and a revival of siesta-like pauses during the hottest hours. Tourists linger in the shaded arcades of Piazza Unità d’Italia, and the city’s famed “osmize” — countryside farm taverns — report earlier crowds seeking refuge in shaded vineyards.
Hospitals in Udine and Pordenone have not yet seen an uptick in heat-related admissions, according to local health officials, but public advisories have gone out urging hydration, light meals, and special attention to medications and at-risk neighbors.
