ROME, Italy (AFP) — Italy’s health ministry on Thursday declared a red heatwave alert for the cities of Rome, Florence, Bologna, Brescia and Turin as an unseasonal heatwave sweeps Europe.

The red alert, the first of the year in Italy, is issued to warn of “possible negative effects on the health of healthy, active people” and advise the public to stay out of the sun.

Outside Rome’s Colosseum on Thursday, tourists were struggling to cope with the muggy weather, with temperatures at 32°C.

“We’re sweating a lot,” said Spanish tourist Nana Martinez Garcia.

“We’re drinking a lot of water so we can cool down,” she said, with her friend Maria Angeles Mellinas Tello piping in that they were “always staying in the shade whenever we can”.

United States (US) tourist Josh Ren said he had a game plan for the heat: “Get up early, do things more early, take a lot of breaks.”

“Go sit down in some air-conditioned restaurant, go to the museum, stay inside a little bit more during the hottest time of the day.”

Italy has mostly been spared the record-breaking heatwave seen in recent days in the United Kingdom and France, with Britain reporting its hottest-ever day in May at 35.1°C.

Scientists say human-driven climate change is amplifying such extremes, with weather events like heatwaves, droughts and floods becoming more intense and frequent.