The African heat wave that is affecting all of Italy, but above all the Centre-North, will intensify between today and tomorrow, with maximum temperatures reaching 36-38 degrees in the big cities, with much sultriness and little respite even at night, given that the lows for example in Milan and Rome will not drop below 24-25 degrees. Values decidedly above the norm, which open the month of August marked by anomalous heat, after a summer so far in the norm and far from the peaks of last year, when temperatures had already reached instead we are living these days for the first time. The most affected areas, where the red dot has already been triggered (alert 3: "high-risk conditions that persist for 3 or more consecutive days") of the Ministry of Health, I'm mostly there lower Valpadana, the Adige valley, the central Tyrrhenian regions and Sardinia. The red dot has already taken place for Bologna, Bolzano, Campobasso, Florence (where an absolute record is expected with 39 degrees), Genoa, Perugia, Pescara and Rieti, but Milan, Rome and those in the North-East are also at risk. Guard level 3, the highest, is scheduled for Thursday in 18 cities. Slightly less asphyxiated in the South, where, however, the sun will resist with very high temperatures: in the south and in Sicily the heat will be tempered by weak northerly winds.
The backbone of the African anticyclone is in fact positioned to the west of Italy: the most affected countries are in fact Portugal, Spain, France, with the torrid heat reaching as far as Germany, touching, in fact, central-northern Italy. How long will this unbearable climate last? According to meteorologists, at least another 7 days from today: the latest updates indicate a continuation of the exceptional heat wave probably until early next week, and a gradual and slow attenuation only starting from 8-9 August, when in any case the heat will remain in line with or still slightly above the season averages. In reality, some news, even if improbable and in any case not decisive, could already arrive between tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, Thursday 2 and Friday 3 August: thunderstorms over the central and southern regions will momentarily refresh the air, but they will be insufficient to guarantee a prolonged refreshment: for a break in the summer it will be necessary to wait a little longer. Perhaps until just before August XNUMXth
