A little rainfall, especially at high latitudes, is not enough for Sicily in May to get out of the long period of record heat started in September 2023. The average temperature over the 24 hours was over 18 degrees. The new data says so Sicilian agrometeoreological information system (Sias). “While in the Central-Northern regions the long series of positive monthly thermal anomalies was interrupted thanks to continuous disturbances throughout the period, in Sicily a thermal trend persists in which the anomaly seems to have become the norm“, write the regional technicians.
Record heat in Sicily on 18 and 19 May
Unlike the previous nine months, this time no extreme heat peaks were recorded: the marginal influence of disturbances, generally active at higher latitudes, has often created alternation between warmer and cooler phases, especially with regard to night-time values. In this regard, the anomaly for the maximums recorded on is significant day 9 May on the occasion of the most important disturbed phase of the month, the only phase significantly colder than normal. The central period of the month instead it was significantly warmer than normaleven during the disturbed phase between the 18th and 19th. Record heat in Sicily associated with southern ventilation.
Read also – Record heat: 24 degrees in Catania on January 18th. “Highest temperature since 2003”
Record temperature on May 16: almost 36 degrees
The monthly regional average, based on Sias data, is estimated to be equal to 18.4°Cabout 0.9 °C above the 2003-2022 norm, but below the maximum of 18.9 °C estimated for 2006. The maximum value monthly on the Sias network 35.8 °C was recorded on day 16 by the Enna C.da Pasquasia station (located downstream at a low altitude compared to the urban centre); The minimum monthly value of -0.8°C was recorded by the station Cesarò Monte Soro (ME) on day 3 May. Meanwhile, it is under observation the behavior of tree crops following the accumulation of such limited cold in the winter period. We are trying to understand whether the thermal anomaly had negative repercussions on the induction of flower buds, flowering and fruit set.
A completely new winter of 2023-2024
As an example, we show the trend of the accumulation of Cold Units calculated starting from the beginning of the cold period with the method Weinberger (number of hours with temperature below 7 °C) at the Sias Mineo station (CT), illustrative of a generalized phenomenon in the regional territory. Although we do not have continuous hourly data available for the years preceding the Sias series, the estimates of hourly data carried out on the basis of historical daily data allow us to state that scenario of the winter of 2023-2024 is almost certainly completely new compared to the meteorological history of Sicily.
Vine and olive cultivation is also in crisis
Stone fruit is generally the most sensitive when it comes to cold temperatures, so much so that given the record heat, even in May, in Sicily fruit growers have now acquired good experience in selection of varieties with low cold requirements, which are better suited to the island’s climate. Even more typically Mediterranean crops such as the vine and the olive tree however, they have their own sensitivity to the accumulation of cold, which is expressed with a different physiological response of some varieties/vines to the winter temperature trend.
