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CLIMATE CRISIS

July heatwave: What temperatures to expect in Italy

Another heatwave is forecast to hit Italy this week - here's how hot we can expect things to get across the country and when the weather might break.

Published: 11 July 2022 18:09 CEST
A view shows the dessicated bed of the river Po in Boretto, northeast of Parma, on June 15, 2022.
The dessicated bed of the river Po in Boretto, northeast of Parma, on June 15th, 2022. Photo by Piero CRUCIATTI / AFP.

Temperatures across Italy will begin to rise this week and stay unusually high for at least 10 days, probably longer, according to meteorologists.

The coming heatwave is forecast to be the most powerful one yet to hit Italy in 2022. The country has already experienced a series of unusually intense and lengthy heatwaves, and is now experiencing the worst drought in 70 years.

EXPLAINED: How could Italy’s drought state of emergency affect you?

While the most recent heatwave in early July had the strongest effect on central-southern parts of Italy, this one will hit the centre-north of the country particularly hard, say experts at the weather news site ilmeteo.

Mercury levels will start to rise across the country from Thursday, July 14th, with the northwest and Emilia Romagna seeing peaks of 35-36°C by Friday.

From the start of next week temperatures will continue to climb towards 40°C in these areas and in many inland parts of the country.

This picture taken on July 2, 2022 in Rome shows the low water level of the river Tiber near the Vittorio Emanuele II bridge, revealing an ancient bridge built under Roman Emperor Nero (Bottom). (Photo by Andreas SOLARO / AFP)

News agency Ansa estimates that temperatures in the Po Valley (i.e. Milan, Mantua, Bologna, Padua, Verona, Ferrara), Tuscany (Florence) and Umbria (Terni) could rise above 38-39°C as early as Friday 15th and stay at those levels until at least July 22nd.

Most of the centre-south of the country is expected to remain several degrees lower than this to begin with, although temperatures in Rome and parts of inland Sicily and Sardinia are likely to reach at least 38°C by the weekend, according to Sky News. 

READ ALSO: Italian wildfires ‘three times worse’ than average as heatwave continues

By the second half of the month a new North African anticyclone is forecast to reach Italy, pushing mercury levels up to 42°C in the Po Valley between July 17th and 20th, when temperatures will be at their highest.

It’s not just the days that are affected: nights are also anticipated to reach “subtropical” temperatures of above 20°C with high humidity across much of the country, which could easily disrupt sleep.

READ ALSO: ‘Four to five light meals a day’: Italy’s official advice for surviving the heat

In preparation for the heatwave – the fifth Italy has experienced so far this year – the government has released official advice on how to prepare for the extreme weather.

This includes avoiding going outdoors at all between 11am and 6pm; wearing a light-coloured hat, sunglasses and sunscreen when outdoors; taking periodic showers to reduce body temperature; and drinking at least two litres of water a day.

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CLIMATE CRISIS

‘Extreme’ climate blamed for world’s worst wine harvest in 62 years

World wine production dropped 10 percent last year, the biggest fall in more than six decades, because of "extreme" climate changes, the body that monitors the trade said on Thursday.

Published: 26 April 2024 08:48 CEST
'Extreme' climate blamed for world's worst wine harvest in 62 years

“Extreme environmental conditions” including droughts, fires and other problems with climate were mostly to blame for the drastic fall, said the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) that covers nearly 50 wine producing countries.

Australia and Italy suffered the worst, with 26 and 23 percent drops. Spain lost more than a fifth of its production. Harvests in Chile and South Africa were down by more than 10 percent.

The OIV said the global grape harvest was the worst since 1961, and worse even than its early estimates in November.

In further bad news for winemakers, customers drank three per cent less wine in 2023, the French-based intergovernmental body said.

Director John Barker highlighted “drought, extreme heat and fires, as well as heavy rain causing flooding and fungal diseases across major northern and southern hemisphere wine producing regions.”

Although he said climate problems were not solely to blame for the drastic fall, “the most important challenge that the sector faces is climate change.

“We know that the grapevine, as a long-lived plant cultivated in often vulnerable areas, is strongly affected by climate change,” he added.

France bucked the falling harvest trend, with a four percent rise, making it by far the world’s biggest wine producer.

Wine consumption last year was however at its lowest level since 1996, confirming a fall-off over the last five years, according to the figures.

The trend is partly due to price rises caused by inflation and a sharp fall in wine drinking in China – down a quarter – due to its economic slowdown.

The Portuguese, French and Italians remain the world’s biggest wine drinkers per capita.

Barker said the underlying decrease in consumption is being “driven by demographic and lifestyle changes. But given the very complicated influences on global demand at the moment,” it is difficult to know whether the fall will continue.

“What is clear is that inflation is the dominant factor affecting demand in 2023,” he said.

Land given over to growing grapes to eat or for wine fell for the third consecutive year to 7.2 million hectares (17.7 million acres).

But India became one of the global top 10 grape producers for the first time with a three percent rise in the size of its vineyards.

France, however, has been pruning its vineyards back slightly, with its government paying winemakers to pull up vines or to distil their grapes.

The collapse of the Italian harvest to its lowest level since 1950 does not necessarily mean there will be a similar contraction there, said Barker.

Between floods and hailstones, and damp weather causing mildew in the centre and south of the country, the fall was “clearly linked to meteorological conditions”, he said.

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