# Heat in Italy: who measures it, and how hot

> The Ministry of Health issues heat bulletins for 27 cities, Monday to Friday. Mean July maxima run from 61.2°F on an Alpine pass to 90.1°F in Florence.

URL: https://myitalia.it/plan/heat-and-summer
Last updated: 2026-09-02

The Ministry of Health publishes daily heat wave bulletins for 27 Italian cities, issued Monday to Friday, and in 2026 they ran until September 20.

## Who measures the heat, and what they watch

The bulletins are prepared by the Epidemiology Department of the Lazio regional health service and coordinated by the Ministry of Health, covering 27 cities. Behind them run two surveillance systems: daily mortality, through the SiSMG network, and emergency room admissions.

The populations they are written for are named: older people, people with chronic illness, children, pregnant women. The list of which 27 cities and the exact start date of the 2026 season sit on pages we could not open, so this page does not name them.

## How hot is hot: mean July maxima from 61.2°F to 90.1°F

The 1991-2020 normals put the mean daily maximum in July at 90.1°F (32.3°C) in Florence, 87.8°F (31.0°C) at Rome Ciampino, 87.3°F (30.7°C) at Milan Linate, 86.4°F (30.2°C) at Trapani Birgi, 84.2°F (29.0°C) at Venice Tessera and 61.2°F (16.2°C) at Passo Rolle.

Read that list twice. Florence, inland and enclosed, runs hotter in July than western Sicily, and Milan runs hotter than Trapani. The heat that hurts in Italy is a continental and valley phenomenon, not a southern one.

## Annual means: 14°C between an Alpine pass and Naples

Across the year the range is nearly 14°C wide: 3.2°C at Passo Rolle, 6,575 feet (2,004 m), against 17.1°C at Naples Capodichino, with Trapani Birgi at 18.1°C and Ustica at 18.0°C at the warm end. In January the spread runs from -3.9°C at Passo Rolle to 11.4°C at Trapani.

Milan Linate averages 14.2°C over the year, Venice Tessera 13.9°C, Florence Peretola 15.5°C, Rome Ciampino 15.8°C: four cities within 2°C of each other, with very different summers.

## In Rome, August beats July

Rome's warmest month is August, mean 77.7°F (25.4°C) and mean daily maximum 88.9°F (31.6°C), a shade above July at 77.2°F (25.1°C). The difference is small, and it means the second half of August offers no relief that the calendar guarantees.

## The stations are at airports, and the cities are hotter

Every figure above comes from an airport station on the edge of its city, which is how the WMO series is built: 84 Italian stations, 30 years, at least 24 valid years for a value to exist. Historic centers run hotter through the urban heat island, and none of this data quantifies that gap.

Palermo is missing from the list because it has no complete 1991-2020 series. Where a station lacks the valid years, the number does not exist and this site leaves the hole visible.

## Where the water is not

Summer rainfall in central and southern Italy and the islands drops to a marked minimum, with July totals between 3 and 25 mm. Trapani Birgi records 488.9 mm across the whole year and Ustica 525.7 mm, the two driest in this set; Rome Fiumicino 622.6 mm.

Northern Italy behaves differently. The Po valley has a double maximum, in autumn and in late spring, with no dry season at all, and the Alps take their heaviest rain in July and August.

## FAQ

### Is there an official heat warning system in Italy?

Yes. The Ministry of Health publishes daily heat wave bulletins for 27 cities, Monday to Friday, prepared by the Epidemiology Department of the Lazio regional health service. In 2026 they ran until September 20.

### Which Italian city has the hottest summer?

Of the stations with a full 1991-2020 series, Florence Peretola has the highest mean July maximum at 90.1°F (32.3°C), above Rome Ciampino at 87.8°F (31.0°C) and above Trapani Birgi in Sicily at 86.4°F (30.2°C).

### Is August hotter than July in Italy?

In Rome, yes, by a fraction: August averages 77.7°F (25.4°C) against 77.2°F (25.1°C) in July, and the mean daily maximum reaches 88.9°F (31.6°C). The ranking is not the same at every station.

### Does it rain in Italy in summer?

Barely, south of the Apennines. Central and southern Italy and the islands run a marked summer minimum, with July totals between 3 and 25 mm. On the Alps the pattern reverses and July is the wettest month of the year.

### Who is most at risk during an Italian heat wave?

The bulletins target older people, people with chronic illness, children and pregnant women. Two surveillance systems sit behind them: daily mortality across 27 cities and emergency room admissions, both tracked through the summer.

## Sources

| Fact | Source | Confidence | Valid until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Il Ministero della Salute pubblica bollettini giornalieri sulle ondate di calore per 27 citta' italiane, elaborati dal Dipartimento di Epidemiologia del SSR della Regione Lazio; nell'estate 2026 sono usciti dal lunedi' al venerdi' fino al 20 settembre 2026. | [Istituto Superiore di Sanita' - EpiCentro](https://www.epicentro.iss.it/caldo/aggiornamenti) | medium | 2027-05-31 |
| Le normali 1991-2020 quantificano l'ampiezza climatica italiana: fra Passo Rolle (2004 m, media annua 3,2 °C) e Napoli Capodichino (17,1 °C) corrono quasi 14 °C; a gennaio si va da -3,9 °C a Passo Rolle a +11,4 °C a Trapani; a luglio le massime medie vanno da 16,2 °C a Passo Rolle a 32,3 °C a Firenze. | [WMO Climatological Standard Normals 1991-2020 - serie trasmessa dall'Italia (stazioni del Servizio Meteorologico dell'Aeronautica Militare), archivio NOAA NCEI accession 0253808](https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/6.6/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Italy/CSV/Passo_Rolle_16021.csv); [doc 2](https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/6.6/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Italy/CSV/Napoli_Capodichino_16289.csv); [doc 3](https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/6.6/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Italy/CSV/Trapani_Birgi_16429.csv); [doc 4](https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/6.6/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Italy/CSV/Firenze_Peretola_16170.csv); [doc 5](https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/6.6/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Italy/CSV/Milano_Linate_16080.csv) | medium | 2032-12-31 |
| Roma: normali climatiche 1991-2020 della stazione Roma Ciampino (129 m s.l.m.). Temperatura media annua 15.8 °C; mese piu' freddo gen (7.5 °C di media), mese piu' caldo ago (25.4 °C di media). | [WMO Climatological Standard Normals 1991-2020 - serie trasmessa dall'Italia (stazioni del Servizio Meteorologico dell'Aeronautica Militare), archivio NOAA NCEI accession 0253808](https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/6.6/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Italy/CSV/Roma_Ciampino_16239.csv); [ISPRA - Sezione Climatologia Operativa, applicazione 'Valori climatici normali'](https://valori-climatici-normali.isprambiente.it/) | high | 2032-12-31 |
| I dati climatici italiani citati in questo file sono NORMALI CLIMATICHE trentennali del periodo 1991-2020 (WMO Climatological Standard Normals), calcolate sulle stazioni del Servizio Meteorologico dell'Aeronautica Militare e trasmesse dall'Italia all'Organizzazione Meteorologica Mondiale; l'Italia ha inviato 84 stazioni. | [WMO Climatological Standard Normals 1991-2020 - serie trasmessa dall'Italia (stazioni del Servizio Meteorologico dell'Aeronautica Militare), archivio NOAA NCEI accession 0253808](https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/6.6/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Italy/CSV/); [ISPRA - Sezione Climatologia Operativa, applicazione 'Valori climatici normali'](https://valori-climatici-normali.isprambiente.it/) | high | 2032-12-31 |

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