Italian seas are getting warmer and warmer; by 2025, they will be more than one degree above average

The seas are hot in Italia, and global ocean temperatures in June have also broken all previous records.

 With an annual average of 20 degrees Celsius and peaks of over 26 in July (26.64) and August (26.48), 2025 saw Italian seas record temperatures that were +1.18 degrees higher than the 1991–2020 climatological reference, making it the second warmest year since 1982.

The ‘temperature’ of Italy’s seas is measured by the National System for Environmental Protection (SNPA), comprising ISPRA and the Regional and Autonomous Provincial Environmental Agencies (ARPA/APPA), which has published the report “The Climate in Italia in 2025”, whilst at a global level it is the European Copernicus programme has sounded the alarm over a new record for daily global sea surface temperatures, surpassing those of 2023 and 2024.

In Italia, the SNPA also points out that more frequent rainfall in the North is improving the water situation in the region, with a 7 per cent increase in rainfall compared with the average, whilst the Centre remains in line with the average and the South has seen a 5 per cent decrease.

Since 2000, almost every year in Italia has seen above-average air temperatures, and 2025 is no exception, with an average temperature anomaly of +1.03 degrees compared to the 1991–2020 climatological average. All months, except October and November, were warmer than normal; June, with a peak of 3.23 degrees above average, was the second warmest on record, after the record set in 2003.