The heat is back, up to 38 degrees in the city: the weather forecast

(Adnkronos) – The great heat returns with the African anticyclone that over the next week will bring the thermometer up to 38 degrees in several Italian cities. Mattia Gussoni, meteorologist of the site iLMeteo.it, confirms the arrival of a new anomalous climatic phase that will have direct consequences on a good part of the Mediterranean basin with temperatures well above the averages expected in this period.

The cause of this surge in temperatures must be sought in the area from which the air masses will depart: the scorching Sahara desert (inland areas of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia) has already been recording temperatures of 46-48°C in recent days. The climate of the area between the Tropic of Cancer and 37° North latitude (the northernmost strip of Africa) is called a 'subtropical climate': for this reason we speak of a heat wave with subtropical characteristics.

From today, Sunday 22 June, this warm bubble will expand towards the Mediterranean basin and Europe causing, in addition to greater atmospheric stability with lots of sun, also a sharp increase in temperatures. These conditions will keep us company also during the next week when the anomalous heat will be felt in particular on the plains of the North and the Tyrrhenian regions where the thermal values ​​will widely rise above 34-36°C during the afternoon hours. In Sardinia, Puglia and Basilicata maximum peaks of up to 42°C could be reached. These are extreme temperatures, but unfortunately they are becoming more and more frequent due to climate change. Heat waves, once considered exceptional, now occur on a weekly basis and hit with greater intensity and duration: a recent study by iLMeteo.it has confirmed that the summer season now lasts 4 or 5 months with muggy and at times unbearable heat, with a more tropical than European flavor. In the 70s and 80s, in many areas of Italy, there were 10-15 days of 'intense heat' per year, that is, days with a perceived temperature >=32°C (combination of air temperature, wind speed and humidity) and/or with a temperature >=35°C. Today, on average, there are 35-40 or more, with higher peaks in urban areas and in the regions of the Center South or the Po Valley. In fact, we have added a 'tropical month' to our climatology.

In this scorching context, the biometeorological discomfort calculated with the Heat Stress Index (an index that combines the effects of high temperatures and humidity on the human body) will rise throughout the next week to the level of extreme caution in many areas, especially in the Po Valley and in a good part of the regions of Central and Southern Italy.

IN DETAIL

Sunday 22: In the North: sunny and warmer. In the Center: mostly sunny, thunderstorms in the afternoon in the inland areas. In the South: sunny and warm.

Monday 23: In the North: sunny and warmer; showers on the Alps. In the Center: sunny and warmer. In the South: sunny and warmer.

Tuesday 24: In the North: sunny and even warmer. In the Center: sunny and warmer. In the South: warm and sunny everywhere.

TREND: New week with intensifying African heat.