Hot records, the measures of cities and regions: can they really be enough against heat waves?

Yes, in summer it has always been hot. And no, this heat is not that of the summers of the last century. The average summer temperatures in Italy have increased by more than two degrees in the last 50 years. The Mediterranean exceeded the average of June by 5 degrees according to the EU Copernicus Observatory. If until a few years ago the sea was the mitigator of the climate, now me amplifies the problems.

Red stamps and measures

The cities, in Italy, but also in many European countries, are unlivable in the summer and not for short periods as were the heat peaks of the past, but for whole weeks as is happening now. The current heat wave will not ease before the weekend and there are, today, 18 cities, from Trieste to Palermo, with red sticker that involves temperatures perceived close to 40 degrees and risk for the health of those who are outdoors.

Some regions have been taking measures for some time especially for those who work. Already in early June Lazio imposed the stop to outdoor activities from 12 and 30 to 16. It applies to construction sites, nurseries, for caves and works in the countryside on the days with higher risk, in the days considered to be high risk for the heat based on the daily monitoring that is published on the Worklimate website of Inail and CNR. So explained the provision the president of the Lazio Region, Francesco Rocca: «Climate change makes the heat peaks more and intense: we cannot allow ourselves to underestimate its effects. Our task is to protect people, especially the most exposed workers. We will continue to monitor the evolution of temperatures and, if necessary, we will intervene with even greater incisiveness ».

Other regions have taken the same way, last Lombardy that starts the measure in these days. They have adopted them from similar Sicily, Puglia, Umbria, Tuscany, Abruzzo, Campania and Calabria. Still others have given suggestions to companies without imposing rules: Marche, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Molise, Piedmont, Valle d’Aosta, Veneto and Trentino-Alto Adige. A document from Emilia-Romagna has just been signed which inserts among the workers to be protected those committed “in the logistics squares”. Just at the gates of the Emilian capital, a 47 -year -old entrepreneur died yesterday who was working on the remake of the gym of a school.

There is no national measure, but many local initiatives. In Genoa the buses for the over 70s are free starting at 7 and 30 in the morning, instead of 9.30. A measure to invite them to move to the less hot hours. It is an invitation, the one that comes out in the less hot hours, among those who have always been given for the elderly and childrenlike that to always remain hydrated, to eat fruit and vegetables, to reduce physical activity, to refresh the domestic environment, to correctly preserve the medicines and reduce, if possible the doses.

Make the cities green

Bologna aims to plant trees in the squares of the city center. They will be installed within 10 days and will remain until September, then they will be planted in the nests and maternal gardens. Although the way to follow is this: to increase and redevelop the presence of urban green in cities, with trees, parks and gardens, it could allow you to lower the average temperatures of 1.5 degrees. The first objective indicated by the green guarantor of the Municipality of Milan with the new plan for the city is to reduce the effect of the so -called heat islands in different furniture in the city. “We must intervene in each neighborhood, every street, each square, significantly increasing the arboreal coverage and draining surfaces”. Not only to plant trees, but to rethink the entire urban structure: depavvimento where possible and encourage the thermal insulation of the buildings through the construction of roofs and green facades.