Climate of Italy

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Köppen climate classification types of Italy

The climate of Italy is highly diverse. In most of the inland northern and central regions, the climate ranges from humid subtropical to humid continental and oceanic. The climate of the Po valley geographical region is mostly humid subtropical, with cool winters and hot summers. The coastal areas of Liguria, Tuscany and most of the South experience a Mediterranean climate according to the Köppen climate classification.

Between the north and south there can be a considerable difference in temperature, above all during the winter: on some winter days it can be and snowing in Milan, while it is in Rome and in Palermo. Temperature differences are less extreme in the summer. On 11 August 2021, an agricultural monitoring station near Syracuse recorded which constitutes the official record of the highest temperature in Europe according to the World Meteorological Organization.

Italy is experiencing widespread impacts of climate change, with an increase in extreme events such as heatwaves, droughts and more frequent flooding. For example, Venice is facing increasing issues due to sea level rise. Italy faces many challenges adapting to climate change including the economic, social, and environmental impacts that climate change creates, and an increasingly problematic death toll from the health risks that come with climate change.

Generality

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Summer in La Maddalena, Sardinia

The Italian climate is influenced by the large body of water of the Mediterranean Seas that surrounds Italy on every side except the north. These seas constitute a reservoir of heat and humidity for Italy. Within the southern temperate zone, they determine a Mediterranean climate with local differences due to the geomorphology of the territory, which tends to make its mitigating effects felt, especially in high pressure conditions.

In addition to Mediterranean influences, the Italian climate is partly affected by the western currents, especially in the intermediate seasons, also by the dynamics in the Atlantic Ocean, with its cyclones that travel from west to east, driven by the zonal circulation and more generally by the reciprocal position, on a synoptic level, of the Azores anticyclone and the Template:Ill. The cold winter airs, are in part influenced by the mountain ranges of the Alps and the Apennines. The mitigating effect of the Mediterranean is added to this condition with a tendency to reinvigorate, due to the transfer of sensible heat and humidity, the weakened perturbations from the west or with the formation of Template:Ill or Mediterranean cyclogenesis.

Geography

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Topographic map of Italy

Italy is located in southern Europe and it is also considered a part of western Europe, between latitudes 35° and 47° N, and longitudes 6° and 19° E. To the north, Italy borders Switzerland, France, Austria and Slovenia and is roughly delimited by the Alpine watershed, enclosing the Po Valley and the Venetian Plain. To the south, it consists of the entirety of the Italian Peninsula crossed by the Apennines and the two Mediterranean islands of Sicily and Sardinia, in addition to many smaller islands. The sovereign states of San Marino and the Vatican City are enclaves within Italy, while Campione d'Italia is an Italian exclave in Switzerland.

Italy is part of the Northern Hemisphere. The country's total area is , of which is land and is water. Including islands, Italy has a coastline of on the Adriatic Sea, Ionian Sea, Tyrrhenian Sea, Ligurian Sea, Sea of Sardinia and Strait of Sicily, and borders shared with France (), Austria (), Slovenia () and Switzerland (). San Marino () and Vatican City (), both enclaves, account for the remainder.

Over 35% of the Italian territory is mountainous. The Apennine Mountains form the peninsula's backbone, and the Alps form most of its northern boundary, where Italy's highest point is located on Mont Blanc summit (Monte Bianco) (). Other worldwide-known mountains in Italy include the Matterhorn (Monte Cervino), Monte Rosa, Gran Paradiso in the West Alps, and Bernina, Stelvio and Dolomites along the eastern side. The Po, Italy's longest river (), flows from the Alps on the western border with France and crosses the Po Valley on its way to the Adriatic Sea. The Po Valley is the largest plain in Italy, with , and it represents over 70% of the total plain area in the country.

Description

Conditions on the coast are different from those in the interior, particularly during winter months when the higher altitudes tend to be cold, wet, and often snowy. The coastal regions have mild winters and warm and generally dry summers, although lowland valleys can be quite hot in summer. Average winter temperatures vary from on the Alps to in Sicily, so average summer temperatures range from to over . Winters can vary widely across the country with lingering cold, foggy and snowy periods in the north and milder, sunnier conditions in the south. Summers can be hot and humid across the country, particularly in the south while northern and central areas can experience occasional strong thunderstorms from spring to autumn. The east coast of the Italian peninsula is not as wet as the west coast, but is usually colder in the winter. The east coast north of Pescara is occasionally affected by the cold bora winds in winter and spring, but the wind is less strong here than around Trieste. During these frosty spells from E–NE cities like Rimini, Ancona, Pescara and the entire eastern hillside of the Apennines can be affected by true "blizzards". The town of Fabriano, located just around in elevation, can often see of fresh snow fall in 24 hours during these episodes.

On the coast from Ravenna to Venice and Trieste, snow falls more rarely: during cold spells from the east, the cold wind can be harsh but with bright skies. During the snowfalls that affect Northern Italy, the Adriatic coast can see a milder Sirocco wind which makes snow turn to rain. The mild effects of this wind often disappear just a few kilometres inside the plain, and sometimes the coast from Venice to Jesolo sees snow while it is raining in Trieste and surroundings, the Po River mouths and Ravenna. Rarely, the city of Trieste has seen snow blizzards with north-eastern winds. In the colder winters, the Venice Lagoon may freeze, and in the coldest ones even enough to walk on the ice sheet (December 1788). Further south, snow may occur inland but it rarely happens at sea level, though snow at sea level has been recorded as far south as Sicily. Winters are generally milder in the coastal areas of the south, Sicily and Sardinia.

Summer is usually more stable, although the northern regions often have thunderstorms in the afternoon/night hours and some grey and rainy days. So, while south of Florence the summer is typically dry and sunny, in the north it tends to be more humid and cloudy. The humidity can make the northern plains particularly uncomfortable.

Spring and autumn weather can be very changeable, with sunny and warm weeks (sometimes with summer-like temperatures) suddenly broken off by cold spells or followed by rainy and cloudy weeks.

Sunshine duration, solar irradiance and cloud cover

Based on the maps on sunshine duration and on global solar irradiance in Italy, the areas with the highest values are the coasts of Sardinia, the western and southern coastal strip of Sicily, the whole of Apulia south of Bari, and the coastal strips of the southern Tuscan Archipelago. All these areas have values of more than 2,600 hours of sunshine per year, with an average of more than seven hours per day.

On average, the northern and eastern coastal strip of Sicily, the innermost areas of Sardinia, the entire western peninsular coast to the south of Livorno, including the flat and hilly areas of the hinterland, the Ionian coast between Calabria and Basilicata, the inland areas of Lucania, the Adriatic coasts of Molise and the whole of northern Apulia, receive between 2,400 and 2,600 hours of sunshine per year (between 6.5 and seven hours per day).

Values between 2,200 and 2,400 hours of sunshine per year (between 6 and 6.5 hours per day) are recorded in the innermost areas of Sicily, in some sections of the Calabrian Ionian coast and in the corresponding inland areas, along the Adriatic coast of Abruzzo, in Liguria, Versilia, inland areas of northern and eastern Tuscany, in Umbria and in the hinterland of southern Lazio and Campania. All the other areas north of the imaginary oblique transversal line, drawn between the area immediately north of the city of Genoa and the border between Marche and Abruzzo, record annual average values that do not reach 2,200 hours, or less than six hours per day.

The highest annual average values in the network of pyranometric stations relating to global solar irradiance are higher than and concern the southern and south-eastern extremities of Sicily. Average annual values between and are recorded over a large part of the Aosta Valley, on the western alpine extremity of Piedmont, on the island of Pianosa, on the coastal and sublittoral areas of the middle and southern Lazio, in the south-central Apulia, Calabria, Sardinia and most of Sicily (including the islands of Ustica, Pantelleria and Lampedusa).

Average annual values between and affect western Liguria, a large part of Tuscany and central-northern Lazio, a large part of the Marche, Abruzzo and Molise, Campania, Basilicata, northern Puglia and north-eastern Sardinia. Average annual values between and occur in central-eastern Piedmont, eastern Liguria, Lombardy, Trentino-Alto Adige, Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, most of Emilia-Romagna and on the Apennine ridge between Emilia, Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Lazio. Average annual values of less than are recorded in an area of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines which includes the highest peaks.

Cloud cover generally tends to reach the lowest average values in the month of July, while the highest average values, according to the different climatic zones, can affect several months between late autumn and the first part of spring, with the highest average values in most of the territory recorded in November.

Precipitation

In the south, summer marks a distinct dry season, characteristic of Mediterranean climates. This includes cities such as Naples, Rome, Bari, and Palermo. In the north, precipitation is more evenly distributed during the year, although the summer is usually slightly wetter. Between November and March the Po valley is often covered by fog, especially in the central zone (Pavia, Piacenza, Cremona and Mantua), while the number of days with lows below is usually from 60 to 90 a year, with peaks of 100–110 days in the mainly rural zones.

Snow is quite common between early December and early March in cities like Turin, Milan and Bologna, but sometimes it appears in late November or late March and even April. In the winter of 2005–2006, Milan received around or of fresh snow, Como around or , Brescia or , Trento or , Vicenza around or , Bologna around or , and Piacenza around or

Often, the largest snowfalls happen in February, sometime in January or March. In the Alps, snow falls more in autumn and spring over , because winter is usually marked by cold and dry periods; while the Apennines see many more snow falls during winter, but they are warmer and less wet in the other seasons.

Both mountain chains can see up to or of snow in a year at . On the highest peaks of the Alps, snow may fall even during mid summer, and glaciers are present.

Temperatures

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Tuscan landscape in Val d'Orcia during summer

Summer temperatures are often similar north to south. July temperatures are north of river Po, like in Milan or Venice, and south of river Po can reach like in Bologna, with fewer thunderstorms; on the coasts of Central and Southern Italy, and in the near plains, mean temperatures goes from 23 °C to . Generally, the hottest month is August in the south and July in the north; during these months the thermometer can reach in the south and in the north; Sometimes the country can be split as during winter, with rain and during the day in the north, and in the south; but, having a hot and dry summer does not mean that Southern Italy will not see rain from June to August. Thunderstorms, while much more common in the humid north, occasionally also occur in the south. High humidity may keep nighttime temperatures high in Italy's cities during the summer months.

The coldest month is January: the Po valley's mean temperature is between , Venice , Trieste , Florence , Rome , Naples , and Cagliari . Winter morning lows can occasionally reach in the Alps, in the Po valley, in Florence, in Rome, in Naples and in Palermo. In cities like Rome and Milan, strong heat islands can exist, so that inside the urban area, winters can be milder and summers more sultry.

On some winter mornings it can be just in Milan's Piazza del Duomo while in the metropolitan outskirts, in Turin can be just in the city centre and in the metropolitan outskirts.

Climates found in Italy

Hot semi-arid climate (BSh)

It is found in some areas of Sicily, Sardinia and the Pelagie Islands, for example in Lampedusa.

Hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Csa)

It is found in all the coastal areas, excluding the north-eastern area and the area of Liguria from Genoa to Savona, which have a Humid subtropical climate. The winter average varies from , in the northern areas, to in the southern islands. During the summer, averages are near in the north (Liguria) and sometimes reach in the south. Precipitation mostly occurs during the winter. Snowfalls are rare and usually very light in the north, and almost never happen in the south. Summers are dry and hot. Main cities: Cagliari, Palermo, Naples, Rome, Pescara.

Warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Csb)

This climate is found inland and at medium and high elevations in southern Italy, around . It is similar to the usual Mediterranean climate: the summers are dry and the winters wetter, but the temperatures are lower in both seasons – around in the winter, and between in the summer. Snowfalls are more common. Main cities and towns: Ariano Irpino, Potenza, San Giovanni in Fiore, Prizzi.

Humid subtropical climate (Cfa)

A relatively "continental" and "four-season" version of the humid subtropical climate can be found in the Po and Adige valleys in the North, and sometimes in low inland Central and Southern Italy. It is marked by hot and wet summers, while winters are moderately cold. The precipitation is higher and there is no dry season. Average temperatures are around 1 °C to 3 °C in January, and more than 22 °C in July and August. Main cities: Milan, Genoa, Venice, Verona, Turin, Trieste, Bologna.

Transition between Cfa and Csa climates

This zone can be found both in some lake and hill resorts of Northern Italy (usually with wetter summers) and in some areas like inner Tuscany (usually with drier summers). Florence is a good example of this transition climate:

Oceanic climate (Cfb)

It can be found in altitude in the Apennines and in the alpine foothills. Summers are between Main cities and towns: Aosta, Biella, Campobasso, L'Aquila, Cuneo, Sondrio, Amatrice, Belluno, Breno, Feltre.

Subpolar oceanic climate (Cfc)

It can be found mainly in the valleys of the Alps and to a lesser extent in the Apennines. Main cities and towns: Tarvisio, Bormio, Cortina d'Ampezzo.

Humid continental climate (Dfb)

This climate is found in the Alps, around in the western side, or around in the eastern side. It is marked by low winter averages (between ) and mild summers, with temperatures averaging from . Snow is usual from early November until March or early April. Main towns: Brusson, Gressoney-Saint-Jean, Aprica, Vermiglio, Mazzin, Santo Stefano di Cadore, Asiago, Claut, Resia.

Warm-summer mediterranean continental climate (Dsb)

It is found at lower altitudes on the slopes of Mount Etna, Sicily, for example in Linguaglossa.

Dry-summer subarctic climate (Dsc)

It is found at higher altitudes on the slopes of Mount Etna, Sicily, for example in Nicolosi.

Subarctic climate (Dfc)

In the alpine valley around . The winters are very cold, averages between , and summers are cool, usually around . Main towns and villages in this area: Livigno, Chamois, Misurina, Predoi, Rhêmes-Notre-Dame.

Tundra climate (ET)

Above the tree line in the Alps. All the months with average below . Villages with this climate: Cervinia, Trepalle.

Extremes

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Syracuse, Sicily, where the highest temperature ever in Europe was recorded,

The record low temperature in Italy is , recorded on 10 February 2013 in the Alps on the Pale di San Martino plateau, in Trentino-Alto Adige, while near sea level is , recorded on 12 January 1985 at San Pietro Capofiume, frazione of Molinella, in Emilia-Romagna. The lowest temperature record for an inhabited place is , recorded on 15 February 2012 in Rocca di Mezzo, Abruzzo, in the Apennines.

The maximum snow depth was recorded in March 1951 in the Alps at the meteorological station of Lake D'Avino, in Piedmont, with a value of . The maximum snowfall in 24 hours is , recorded in the Apennines in the village of Roccacaramanico, frazione of Sant'Eufemia a Maiella (Majella massif), Abruzzo, on 15 January 1951.

The village of Musi, frazione of the municipality of Lusevera, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, with an annual average precipitation of (with a record of in 2014) is the wettest place in Italy. The maximum rainfall in 24 hours was recorded in Bolzaneto, a quarter of Genoa, Liguria, on 10 September 1970 with a value of . However, there are many daily rainfall records around Italy exceeding .

In the south, Sicily has experienced highs of in some hot summers. On 25 June 2007 were recorded in Foggia, Apulia, and on 10 August 1999, were recorded in Catenanuova in Sicily. The latter is not official, and generally considered dubious. On 11 August 2021, an agricultural monitoring station near Syracuse, Sicily recorded which constitutes the official record of the highest temperature in Europe according to the World Meteorological Organization.

Climate change

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2009 Messina floods and mudslides

Italy, like other parts of the globe, has been subject in the past to climate changes on a planetary scale (for example glaciations and interglacial periods, Little Ice Age). Contemporary climate change (global warming) has also had numerous effects on Italy. In particular, compared to the 1960s and 1970s, from the mid-1980s onwards there was a recorded increase in the average temperature.

Italy is particularly at risk as it is in a transition area between North Africa and Continental Europe. Experts have highlighted the risk of desertification in the southern regions. Partial confirmation of many concerns was obtained starting from the 2010s with an acceleration of the water cycle, an increase in alluvial phenomena, and the tropicalization of the Mediterranean Sea.

See also

• Climate of Ancient Rome
• Climate change in Italy
• Geography of Italy

External links

• Average climatic data of cities in Italy