We are still in Spring and it’s 43°C. What will happen in the summer?Mattia Gussonisite meteorologist www.-underlines the strength of the first heat wave of 2024 with highs of up to 12°C above the climatological average for June: in other words, a very powerful and slightly early African heat.
Heat waves
On the other hand, heat waves are increasingly frequent and long: in Europe we are recording a 57% increase in the number of people exposed to this climate risk, compared to the decade 2000-2009. Especially in urban areas, the impacts of these extreme events are particularly pronounced due to the so-called ‘heat island’ effect.
In Italy this first wave, associated with the African anticyclone Scipione, will bring 34°C to the North, 38°C to the Center (Sardinia) and 43°C to the South (Sicily). It will therefore be an extreme event associated with global warming, another example of the changing climate.
In the next few hours we will reach 34°C in the North, especially in Emilia Romagna and with oppressively muggy conditions; in the Center we will reach around 35-36°C in Umbria, up to 38°C in the western sector of Sardinia; in the South we won’t have a fever yet, the hottest city will be Taranto with ‘only’ 36 degrees.
Bad weather in the North
SundayHowever, the heatwave will also increase in the south and locally between Lazio, Abruzzo and Molise: peaks of 37°C are expected between Puglia, Calabria and Sicily, while in the north the bad weather will cause fear. Since the afternoon of Sunday 9 JuneIn fact, very violent storms will descend from the western Alps towards the Po Valley with local tornadoes and/or hailstorms: unfortunately, we do not exclude the formation of these extreme phenomena as the disturbance will arrive after days of great heat and above all high humidity.
The new week will remain shaped by this Sunday imprint: in the North and in part of the Center we will remain within a flow of rain and thunderstorms, while in the South the thermometer will continue to rise.
The peak heat of Scipio Africanus will be reached between Tuesday and Wednesday in Sicily with 43°C in the internal areas, between Enna and Caltanissetta.
Puglia and Calabria will also be hot with values close to or locally above 40°C, a number that could shatter some records due to the precociousness of the event: we are still in spring and the climatic fever already covers the whole of the south in an overbearing way; in the far South, among other things, no significant temperature drops are expected even in the long term, the African anticyclone Scipione could remain ‘nicely comfortable’ in these areas for a very long time.
IN DETAIL
Saturday 8
In the North: prevailing sun, afternoon thunderstorms over the Alps and adjacent plains. In the Center: sunny and very hot; 38°C in Sardinia. In the South: sunny and very hot up to 36°C.
Sunday 9
In the North: bad weather coming and a drop in temperature. In the Center: lots of clouds towards Tuscany, heat elsewhere. In the South: sun and very hot weather rising up to 37-39°C.
Monday 10th
In the North: scattered thunderstorms and temperature drops. At the Center: temporal rooms and thermal decrease. In the South: sun and very hot climate up to 37-40°C.
Trend
Sun and heat rising up to 43°C in the South, with persistent and oppressive heat. Lots of thunderstorms, even strong ones, in the North and in part of the Centre.
