ROME, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Italy's civil protection department on Wednesday extended its heat-wave warning to five more cities, where temperatures this week are also expected to reach or even surpass 40 degrees centigrade with high humidity.

    The warning was initially issued on Monday for the cities of Brescia, Bologna, Milan, Bolzano, Rome, Latina, Perugia, Civitavecchia and Palermo. The newly added cities to the list are Venice, Trieste, Florence, Rieti and Messina.

    Among the 14 cities, Messina is expected to be the hottest cityin Italy, followed by Latina, both with temperatures over 40 degrees, while cites close to 40 degrees are Civitavecchia, Milan, Bologna, Brescia and Florence.

    The heat wave is expected to last through the week and civil protection officials believe special measures need to be taken for those most at risk: the elderly, newborns and people with respiratory or cardiovascular problems.