After a brief pause from the intense heat, a new heatwave – the fifth of the year – is expected to hit Italy in the coming days.
The heatwave will mainly affect central and southern Italy, where temperatures will rise again, while thunderstorms are expected across northern Italy, according to ilMeteo.it.
The most intense heat is expected to arrive on Thursday and Friday, August 27th and August 28th. Temperatures are forecast to climb above 40°C in parts of southern Italy and the major islands, with some of the highest values expected in Puglia, Calabria, Sicily and Sardinia.
Eight major Italian cities will be placed on the highest ‘red’ heat alert (bollino rosso) on Friday: Bari, Cagliari, Campobasso, Catania, Latina, Messina, Palermo, Reggio Calabria, and Rome, according to the latest health ministry bulletin.
READ MORE: Could summer 2026 be Italy’s hottest on record?
Meanwhile, Ancona, Bologna, Civitavecchia, Florence, Frosinone, Perugia, Pescara, Rieti, and Viterbo are expected to be on orange alert for the heat (representing a health risk to vulnerable groups such as the elderly and young children).
The hottest temperatures are likely to be recorded in Foggia, where temperatures could reach around 42°C, Sky TG24 reports. Highs of 41°C are possible in parts of Calabria, Sicily and Sardinia. In central Italy, Rome could reach around 39°C and Florence 37°C.
Temperatures will remain more moderate in northern Italy, with Milan, Turin and Trieste being the only major cities still under a zero-risk green alert on Friday.
“It will be a short but very intense heatwave; for some areas of central and southern Italy (Marche, Abruzzo, and almost the entire south), it could be the strongest heatwave of the season,” said Lorenzo Tedici, a meteorologist at ilMeteo.it.
Thunderstorms are expected from the northwestern Alps across the Triveneto region and nearby plains on Friday.
The heat should ease over the weekend, particularly in northern and central Italy. Saturday is expected to bring more clouds and the possibility of showers or thunderstorms over the Apennines.
READ MORE: 'We're heading for catastrophe': The summer climate change hit Europe
The longer-range outlook remains uncertain, but a new Atlantic disturbance could arrive from Wednesday, September 2nd, potentially bringing cooler temperatures and rain before another possible return of warmer weather from around September 5th, according to ilMeteo.it.
Weather forecasters say this could be one of the country’s hottest summers on record, potentially surpassing the record heat from the summer of 2003.
Scientists have found that recurring heatwaves are a clear sign of global warming, driven primarily by human activities such as the burning of coal, oil and gas, and warn that they will become more frequent, longer and more intense as global temperatures rise.
Comments