Italy bakes in heat wave

Temps to hit 44 C in Sicily and Sardinia, 40 C in Rome, Florence

By: ansa.it

Jun 17 2024
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Italy is currently baking in the first big heat wave of the summer with an African anticyclone boosting temperatures up as far as a sweltering 40 degrees C.
    That is 10 degree above seasonal averages, said weatherman Antonio Sanò, fuonder of the website www.iLMeteo.it, who predicted that the wave of Saharan heat will "soon take over the whole country".
    On Monday and Tuesday, Sanò said, the mercury will rise to 32-34°C in the centre-north, and above that in Puglia, Sicily and Sardinia.
    "Then, from Wednesday to Friday, there will be a further intensification of the heat," said Sanò.
    Thermometers will register 39-40°C in Rome, Naples, Terni, Macerata, Florence, Forlì and Ferrara, he said while they will reach 42-44°C in inland parts of Sardinia and Sicily.
    Next weekend the anticyclone will "lose force", Sanò said, "with the first very strong rainstorms in the north and a general lowering of temperatures across all regions".
    Beaches were crowded at the weekend as Italians sought refuge from the heat, and are expected to be even more packed as the mercury rises further this week and with the school holidays having started.