Third heatwave set to last until at least 20 July; 43 degrees in Sardinia on Monday
Heavy thunderstorms are forecast between Friday and Saturday along the central and southern Apennines and across much of the north and the Po Valley. From Monday, temperatures will rise significantly
The extreme temperatures affecting Italia show no sign of easing: the third heatwave, which began this week, is set to last until at least 20 July. And this time, unlike the first two, the south will also be fully affected.
There are still only a few cities on ‘red alert’ – the highest alert level – with Florence being the only one today; Perugia will join it tomorrow and on Saturday – but, according to forecasts by Lorenzo Tedici of iLMeteo.it, a new normal seems to have set in, ‘characterised by temperatures of 34–35 degrees recorded on days considered, paradoxically, to be the least sweltering’.
The third wave
Over the next few days, temperatures are set to reach the same extreme highs as during the first two heatwaves of the year – the one at the end of May and the one in the second half of June. On Monday, temperatures are forecast to reach as high as 43 degrees, accompanied by stifling humidity in the inland areas of south-western Sardinia.
The temperatures recorded this year are a cause for concern, particularly when compared with those of the last century: “Thirty or forty years ago, on a typical June day in Italia, thermometers would read an average of 30–32 degrees. Today, the bar has been raised considerably: just think of Milan, where the highest July temperatures have risen from 33 degrees in the last century to 37 in recent years,” observed Tedici.
Thunderstorms
Heavy thunderstorms are also forecast for the coming days. Until Friday, the area most affected will be the central and southern Apennines, but between Friday and Saturday they will also spread to much of the north and the Po Valley.
