Weather: August, the new seasonal projections of the European Center offer an uncomfortable scenario
The highlight of the holidays amid drought and abnormal temperatures in many regions of Italy
Screenings for AugustJust got there new seasonal forecasts of the European Center for August, with general projections on precipitation and temperatures. What emerges is a not very comforting scenario for many of our regions.
Summer holidays at risk for many Italians?
First a necessary premise. The classic Italian summer seems to have disappeared; L’anticyclone of the Azoresonce dominant in the summer quarter, is now far away, “perso” in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Against the African anticyclone has risen more and more to the fore, to rise to the role of main protagonist. For this reason we are witnessing increasingly intense and lasting heat waves, something never seen before and which testifies to the climate change that has been underway for a few decades now.
Having said that it seems that between the end of July and the beginning of August the large high pressure field of African origin, destined to impose itself more and more significantly on the Mediterranean basin. The latest screening of the European Center confirmation in fact a trend devoted to the heat in the traditionally key period of italian holidays: well, it seems that we will have to deal with temperatures well above the average of about + 3 ° C.
The worrying fact is that this thermal anomaly affects almost the entire continent, from the Iberian Peninsula to Russia, confirming the exceptional nature of this summer which is likely to be among the hottest ever recorded in Europe.
For this reason it is legitimate to speak of “risk“as in practice this translates into repeated heat waves arriving from the heart of Africa (Sahara Desert), with peaks ready to splash well over 35 ° C, especially in Val Padanaon the inland areas of the two Major islands and on part of the Central-southern peninsular.
These anomalous and red-hot phases should be treated as “waves of bad weather” as we know the damage they cause: prolonged drought, health problems and last but not least the danger of extreme weather events. In fact, all this excess heat also increases the potential energy involved with the consequence of having hailstorms and storms whenever drafts of fresh air manage to “pierce” the anticyclonic shield. It is therefore right to talk about holidays at risk, even if not exactly due to rains and thunderstorms, but for a different reason.
Summer should therefore continue on this climatic trend, with continuous flashes of hot air from Africa, as announced by the latest seasonal projections by the very authoritative European Center.
Temperatures above average up to + 2/3 ° C over most of Italy (source: ECMWF)
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