The summer of 2026 was the hottest in Italy since 1950 and surpassed the summer of 2003, previously considered a record. This is according to the Institute for Bioeconomy of the National Research Council (Cnr-Ibe), which analyzed temperatures recorded since 1950 in the Era5 Land database, from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (Ecmwf).
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It turns out that in the summer of 2026 the average temperature across the entire national territory was 24.3°C at two meters above ground, compared to the average of 23.6°C in the summer of 2003, also across the entire national territory and at two meters above ground, said Lorenzo Arcidiaco, from Cnr-Ibe.
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A record average temperature was already reached in spring
“The average of 25.6 degrees Celsius recorded in August 2026 surpasses the previous records of 24.6°C in 2024 and 24°C reached in August 2017,” says Cnr-Ibe researcher Lorenzo Arcidiaco. “The data,” he adds, “suggest that 2026 could end up as the hottest year since 1950. The Heat Maps, which represent a monthly ranking of average temperature from that year to today, show for the first time consecutively the hottest July and August ever. This year, already in spring, a record average temperature for the season was reached – 12.1 degrees at two meters above ground – equal to that recorded in 2024, the hottest year ever since 1950,” continues the Cnr-Ibe researcher. “In the January-August period,” explains the Cnr, “the percentage of national territory with temperature anomalies above one degree also increases to about 70%; and about 40% of the national territory has anomalies above two degrees.”
The most affected areas
“The surfaces exposed to thermal anomaly are very significant, with a concentration in the plains of the northwest and the Apennine areas,” Arcidiaco further observes. “For the most part, these are cultivated surfaces which, exposed to higher temperatures and in some areas to a period of drought, means that the primary sector is the most affected.” “Confirming this,” explains the Cnr, “are the elaborations of GSOD (Global Summary of the Day) and Ogimet data (mainly based on Noaa data) concerning Rome, Florence, and Turin, which in June, July, and August 2026 were all hit multiple times by heat waves, that is, periods in which maximum temperatures exceeded the 90th percentile for at least six consecutive days (see Monthly Distribution Charts of heat waves).”
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