Rome’s homeless struggle to stay cool as heatwave grips Italy
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Red Cross workers giving water to Antonio, a homeless man who fainted due to the heat earlier this week.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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ROME - Soaring temperatures across Italy are taking a heavy toll on the homeless as they struggle to stay cool on the streets during the heatwave.
In Rome, a homeless middle-aged man named Antonio, who sleeps near the city’s iconic Trevi Fountain, collapsed earlier this week, exhausted by days of relentless heat.
“I fainted and woke up in an ambulance,” he said, sitting on a stool on a sidewalk as Red Cross volunteers handed him bottles of cold water during an operation to help the city’s homeless as the heatwave continues.
Finding shade and keeping water cold are among the biggest problems, said Francesco, another homeless man, explaining how he wrapped his water bottle in plastic bags to keep it cooler for longer.
The heatwave, which saw the Italian capital register a record high temperature
“Lately, the streets have been quite deserted due to the hot days, and I haven’t been able to make much money as a street musician,” said Wlad, a Russian with a pet white rabbit on his shoulder, as he took a break from playing his guitar in Rome’s Via del Corso street.
Forecasters said the sweltering conditions should ease in the coming days.
Other southern European countries such as Greece and Spain have also been grappling with extreme heat
