Heatwave in Italy, the regions' measures to protect outdoor workers

For about a week, Italy and several European countries have been hit by an intense heat wave, with temperatures well above the seasonal average. In many cities, especially in the South, maximum temperatures above 37 °C have been recorded, with peaks reaching 40 °C. The continuation of these extreme conditions has prompted many regions to adopt preventive measures to protect the health of the most exposed workers, particularly those employed in agriculture, on construction sites, in quarries and in nurseries.

The regions that have issued the ordinance

Currently, the measures are in force in:

• Tuscany;
• Campania;
• Lazio;
• Umbria;
• Emilia-Romagna;
• Sicily;
• Abruzzo;
• Calabria;
• Sardinia;
• Apulia;
• Piedmont.

What the ordinances say

There are differences in the duration of the bans, in some local areas it goes up to August 31 , in others, such as Lombardy and Emilia, where a construction contractor died yesterday, it goes up to September 15. In the case of Emilia, however, for the first time the directive is "expanded", and is also applied to the logistics sector. The heart of the measures, however, is always the same: to prevent workers from being forced to do physically demanding work under the scorching sun on hot days.

Despite some local variations, all of them include the suspension of outdoor work activities in the most at-risk sectors – construction sites, quarries, fields and nurseries – in the time slot between 12:30 and 16:00 , during the days classified as high-risk, until August 31. The reference site for evaluating the days at risk is called Worklimate 2.0, a platform developed by the National Research Council (CNR) together with Inail.

In the forecast section, you can consult the level of risk based on working conditions, distinguishing between activities carried out outdoors under the sun with high intensity and those carried out in the shade with lower intensity. If the geographical area in which the company is located is colored red on the map, indicating a high risk, workers must suspend activity during the time slots set out in the regional ordinances. Urgent and public utility activities are excluded from the application of the ban, provided that all the required prevention measures are adopted.

The scorching heat in Italy

As for the cities, those with a red dot, that is, with the highest level of risk related to the heat, on Monday there were 16 (against 21 on Sunday), out of 27 monitored by the Ministry of Health. For today the bulletin estimates 17 and for tomorrow 18. In a critical situation since June 26, and at least until tomorrow, there are six cities: Bologna, Bolzano, Brescia, Florence, Perugia and Turin. Today they will be joined by Ancona, Frosinone, Genoa, Latina, Milan, Palermo, Rieti, Rome, Trieste, Verona and Viterbo.

And even the Municipalities are taking action against the heat. In Genoa , for example, free travel on public transport for the over 70s is allowed from 7:30 am, instead of 9:30 am. A measure to encourage them to travel during the less hot hours.

Inail recommendations

To prevent risks related to heat stress and heat stroke, employers can follow the recommendations provided by Inail. Among the main good practices to mitigate the effects of extreme heat waves are:

• bring forward the start of the work shift;
• increase breaks in shaded areas;
• ensure continuous access to drinking water;
• organize worker rotation.