Extreme heat and mass exodus: 26 million vehicles on Italian roads

The fourth heatwave of the 2026 season has coincided with the start of Italy’s great summer exodus, producing a combined effect that can be read both in traffic figures and in emergency healthcare data. According to the Anas Road Mobility Observatory, around 26 million vehicles travelled on Italian roads and motorways during the first weekend of August. To ease traffic flow during this period, 1,175 roadworks sites were closed or suspended, equal to 83 percent of those active, with the suspension in effect until September 7.

This news currently comes from a single source (Il Fatto Quotidiano, which cites data from the Anas Observatory, Simeu and Save the Children); no independent confirmation is available for the figures cited.

The extreme heat that has hit Italy in this first part of August has fuelled several wildfires in Puglia, in the Gargano area, and in Sardinia. The fires developed against a backdrop already marked by high temperatures across much of the country, adding further strain to rescue services already engaged in managing traffic linked to the exodus.

On the health front, the emergency medicine association Simeu reports that emergency room admissions rose by 10 to 15 percent during the heatwave. This increase adds to the ordinary pressure on emergency services during the summer period, when staff numbers are often already reduced due to vacations.

A further element concerns the exposure of the younger population: the organization Save the Children has reported that at least 3 million children in Italy are exposed to extreme heatwaves. The figure, referring to a statistical group rather than identifiable individuals, indicates the scale of the phenomenon among the child population without providing territorial or individual details.

Overall, the picture describes a first week of August in which the effects of the heat manifested along three parallel fronts — road mobility, wildfire safety and emergency healthcare demand — with figures that, according to the available source, exceed those recorded in previous weeks of the same season.