Hot weather today, with temperatures peaking at up to 45 degrees. Conditions are set to improve over the weekend. A tornado struck Cremona, damaging the cathedral and the Town Hall.

According to Lorenzo Tedici, media manager at iLMeteo.it, from a meteorological point of view, today could go down in history as one of the most challenging days ever for much of the country. With September just a few days away, the heatwave shows no sign of letting up, with temperatures as much as ten degrees above average.

Tedici explains that ‘three extraordinary events will turn this date into a veritable manifesto on climate change’. Firstly, yet another super-tropical night with minimum temperatures above 25 degrees across almost the whole of the South, along the central coast and in Romagna. During the day, then, until late afternoon, temperatures reached ‘levels typical of the Algerian hinterland’, with peaks well above 40 degrees in various regions of central and southern Italy. Finally, whilst much of the peninsula will be scorched by record-breaking heat, ‘the north will experience the violent flip side of the accumulated energy. Severe thunderstorms will sweep across the Alps, starting in the western sectors and then moving towards the Triveneto region, with sudden downpours extending as far as the high Po Valley plains north of the River Po’.

Tedici, however, forecasts a ‘welcome’ drop of 3–4 degrees in the maximum temperatures expected for Saturday in central and northern Italy. The drop will also reach the south, but only on Sunday. The fall in temperatures will therefore affect the whole of Italia over the weekend, albeit to varying degrees. According to iLMeteo.it, the greatest differences will be seen in Emilia-Romagna – where temperatures will drop from today’s 35–36 degrees to 32–33 on Sunday – and in central Italy, with temperatures falling by as much as 5–6 degrees between today and Sunday.

However, “we must not delude ourselves into thinking that summer is over: following the passage of a minor Atlantic disturbance in the very first few days of September, forecasts suggest that the relentless African high-pressure system will once again take centre stage,” concludes Tedici.

The peak of the year’s fifth heatwave was therefore reached today. Among the regions hardest hit is Sardinia, where temperatures have reached record levels. In Cagliari, temperatures of 40.8 degrees were recorded, whilst in Jerzu, in Ogliastra, the mercury rose to figures as high as 46 degrees (45.8).

The situation is critical across much of the island’s eastern coast: 45.7 degrees in Bari Sardo, 44.9 in Osini and 43.9 in Tortolì. In Oliena, in the Nuoro area, where a daily record of 45.8 degrees was set yesterday, temperatures are just over 43 degrees, whilst further south, Domus de Maria is recording 41.7 degrees. The figures, which have not yet been validated, were released by Arpas, Sardinia’s regional environmental protection agency.