The climate in Italy

Italy has a diverse climate, ranging from continental to Mediterranean to subtropical. This diversity is due to the different topography of the country, which includes the Alps, valleys and coasts. The "boot" is largely surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea, which is why the climate is predominantly Mediterranean. Mild winters and hot, dry summers characterize the country.

The northern part of the country has a predominantly continental climate with cold, snowy winters and mild summers. In the Po Valley, which stretches from the Alps to the Adriatic Sea, fog and high humidity are common in the winter months. In the northern coastal areas, the climate is milder, and temperatures rarely drop below freezing.

Central Italy, which includes Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio, has a Mediterranean climate with mild winters and hot, fairly dry summers. Tuscany in particular is famous for its vineyards and olive groves, which thrive in the warm, sunny weather.

In southern Italy, including Calabria, Campania, Puglia and the offshore island of Sicily, the temperature rise continues and a subtropical climate prevails with even hotter and also dry summers and mild winters.

Temperature records of the last 74 years

The hottest temperature measured from 1949 to January 2023 was reported by the Palermo Bocadifalco weather station. In August 1999, the record temperature of 45.2 °C was reported here. The hottest summer from July to September, based on all 55 weather stations in Italy below 3,490 meters altitude, was recorded in 1987 with an average temperature of 24.5 °C. This average temperature will normally be measured every four to six hours, thus also including the nights. Normally, this value is 22.3 degrees Celsius.

The coldest day in these 74 years was reported by the Dobbiaco weather station. Here the temperature dropped to -23.0 °C in March 2005. Dobbiaco lies at an altitude of 1,226 meters above sea level. The coldest winter (January to March) was in 2005 with an average temperature of 5.5 °C. In Italy, it is usual to have about 2.0 degrees more at 7.6 °C for this three-month period.

The most precipitation fell in February 2005. With 357.1 mm per day, the Monte Terminillo weather station recorded the highest monthly average of the last 74 years. Incidentally, the region with the most rainfall for the whole year is around Capo Palinuro. The driest region is near Termoli.

Long-term development of temperatures from 1991 - 2022

In contrast to single record values, long-term development cannot simply be brought about by all weather stations in the country. Both the number and the locations are constantly changing. An average value would give a distorted result. If several measuring stations in particularly cold mountain or coastal regions are added in one year, the average would decrease as a result of this alone. If a station fails during the summer or winter months, it does not provide any values and distorts the average again. The subsequent long-term development was therefore reduced to only 11 measuring points in order to have comparable data over as long a period as possible.

In the years 1991 to 2022, there were only these 11 weather stations in the whole country, which reported continuous temperature values. From these weather reports, we have created a long-term development that shows the monthly average temperatures. The hottest month in this entire period was August 2003 at 27.9 °C. February 2012 was the coldest month with an average temperature of 6.6 °C.

The average annual temperature was about 16.2 °C in the years after 1991 and about 17.2 °C in the last years before 2022. So in less than 32 years, it has increased by about 1.0 °C. This trend only applies to the selected 11 weather stations in Italy. A considerably more comprehensive evaluation of global warming has been provided separately.

Data basis and methodology

The data from the individual measuring stations are based on the archives of the German Weather Service, individual values averaged and supplemented by own elements. In order to determine a representative national average, average values were first calculated for each part of the country, which were then summarized at the national level. Thus, if a disproportionate number of weather stations are located in a small area, their number does not affect the national average. There are 56 stations in Italy itself. In 12 cases, neighboring but nearby weather stations were also used to obtain more accurate values.