It will be a hot Ferragosto. July on the podium among the hottest

A respite from the heat is still far away: until mid-August temperatures will remain above average, although not as in recent days. July, meanwhile, closes with a ‘fiery’ balance that would see it on the podium of the hottest ever in Central and Southern Italy: in Rome and Pisa, to give two examples, the highest temperatures in the history of the two cities were recorded. The capital, in particular, according to data provided by ilMeteo.it, recorded an average maximum value of 34.8 degrees and 27 tropical nights (minimums above 20°C) out of 31 with average minimums of around 22°C. Not only that: “On some days – reports the founder of the portal, Antonio Sanò – temperatures never dropped below 25-26°C at night”. At the moment the forecasts indicate that in the capital the mercury column will reach 35°C. The Tuscan city, for its part, recorded an average of 26.7 degrees, 2.8 more than the reference average for 1991-2020.
Temperatures are rising and there is a drought alarm in Puglia, where the Occhito dam, according to Coldiretti Puglia, is about to exhaust the little water still really usable within the basin within a couple of weeks, so it has been a serious alert for fields and stables. The main ‘culprit’ of this situation is the climate in the month of July, with record temperatures. “The month just gone should end up on the podium of the hottest Julys ever in the Center-South. In the North, however, it would be among the top 10,” says Giorgio Bartolini, weather forecaster of the Lamma Consortium between the Tuscany Region and the CNR, specifying that the official data will be communicated by Monday by the Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate of the CNR (ISAC-CNR). From an analysis carried out by Bartolini it appears that last July, in addition to the southern regions (in particular Puglia and Ionian Calabria) was among the three hottest ever in Lazio, Umbria, Marche and Abruzzo. In Tuscany and Florence, however, the meteorologist notes, «it was the fifth hottest July ever after 2022, 2015, 2003 and 2006. In Pisa, however, it was the hottest in history with many tropical nights». After a first ten days of July 2024 with «not so high» temperatures, observes Bartolini, the exceptional values ​​of the second and third part of the month determined the record. In addition to last month’s balance, the expert illustrated the forecasts for the next few days. «After a slight weakening of the high pressure between Saturday and Sunday, the heat will return: 35-37 degrees in the South, 34-36 in the Center-North, with 3-4 degrees more than average, a lower figure than the 6 degrees more of the past few days. Even on August 15th – he concludes – temperatures will be above average. Little precipitation, with isolated thunderstorms in the afternoon hours. According to iLMeteo.it, despite some storms arriving over the weekend in the center-north, the maximum temperatures between Saturday and Sunday will still be African, even in this area. In the south, peaks of 44°C are still expected. Three cities will breathe easier, Bologna and Brescia, which will go from the red dot (maximum heat risk for everyone) to the yellow one (pre-alert for a possible heat wave) while 8 other urban centers, according to the latest update, remain at maximum alert also on Saturday and Sunday.