The summer of 2026 is the hottest since 1950, with August setting a record.

The Italian summer of 2026 has been confirmed as the hottest since 1950, with a national average temperature of 24.3°C at two meters above ground. This is according to research by the Institute for Bioeconomy of the National Research Council (CNR-IBE), which analyzed data from the last 75 years.

The month of August recorded the greatest deviation, with an average temperature of 25.6 degrees Celsius and a thermal anomaly of +5.2°C compared to the reference climatology of 1951-1980. This value surpasses the previous records of 24.6°C in 2024 and 24°C in August 2017.

According to researcher Lorenzo Arcidiaco of CNR-IBE, the data suggests that 2026 could end as the hottest year since 1950. For the first time consecutively, the Heat Maps show the absolute hottest July and August in the historical series.

Climate change is a global phenomenon that is increasingly influencing temperatures in Italy. The systematic measurement of temperatures in Italy dates back to 1950, the year from which the historical series analyzed by the CNR begins. Since then, researchers have observed a progressive increase in average temperatures.

The summer of 2026 represents the peak of this trend, with thermal anomalies affecting about 70% of the national territory, with increases exceeding one degree. The most affected areas are the northwestern plains and the Apennine plains, where many cultivated surfaces are concentrated.

This situation puts the agricultural sector at risk, already vulnerable to climate variations. The research is based on the ECMWF's (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts) Era5 Land datasets and integrates data from GSOD (Global Summary of the Day) and OGIMET, confirming the warming trend through independent measurements.