The summer of 2026 could end up being the hottest ever recorded in Italy. Temperature anomalies observed up to the beginning of August are very close to those recorded in 2003 and could surpass them, according to the Ansa news agency. A definitive comparison can only be made after the end of the season.
The heat wave reached its most critical point on Thursday (6), when the 27 cities monitored by the Italian Ministry of Health received the red dot, maximum alert level. On Friday (7), 26 remained in the red zone. This Saturday (8), the number dropped to 19.
The red alert indicates that prolonged heat could affect the entire population, not just the elderly, young children, and people with chronic illnesses. The Ministry of Health's system publishes daily forecasts for 27 italian cities between May and September.
“What was exceptional 20 years ago is unfortunately becoming normal,” Lorenzo Giovannini, an atmospheric physicist at the University of Trento, told Ansa. The researcher described the summer of 2003 as an unprecedented event in Italy and France, but said that the values of 2026 could surpass it.
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The current heat wave corresponds to the fourth recorded in the country since May. Periods with milder temperatures have become shorter, while intense episodes have begun to reappear throughout the same season.
Data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service has already placed June 2026 as the warmest June on record in Western Europe. The regional average temperature reached 20,74°C, or 3,06°C above the average from 1991 to 2020. Across the European continent, it was the second warmest June in the series, with an average of 19,14°C.
Northern Italy and tropical nights
O Northern ItalyThe region, including historically milder alpine areas, is among those affected by the persistent heat. In the Adige Valley, the number of days with temperatures above 35°C has exceeded ten and, in some places, surpassed 15.
There has also been an increase in so-called tropical nights, when the minimum temperature remains above 20°C. Without a sufficient drop in temperature during the early morning hours, houses and buildings accumulate the heat from the previous day. In Chioggia, on the Veneto coast, minimum temperatures close to 30°C were recorded.
The European Environment Agency points out that Europe is the fastest-warming continent. With rising temperatures, heat waves are becoming longer and more severe, impacting health, water supply, agriculture, and infrastructure.
The heat is expected to continue next week.
The Italian Air Force predicts that very hot air will persist over Italy this weekend, although locally intense storms may cause temporary drops in temperature. Maximum temperatures could approach 40°C in the interior of Tuscany, Lazio, Campania, Puglia, and Basilicata. CalabriaSicily and Sardinia.
For the period of August 10-16, the meteorological service indicates above-average temperatures across much of the peninsula and in Sardinia. The long-term forecast is probabilistic, but points to a more noticeable change only between the 17th and 23rd.
The warming of the Mediterranean is also a concern for meteorologists. Giovannini explained that the sea is accumulating energy during the summer. The arrival of the first cold air masses near autumn could favor strong storms and intense rainfall, but there is no specific event predicted yet.
