ROME, ITALY / RankWire.AI / – Italy recorded its hottest summer since 1950 in 2026, with a national average temperature of 24.3 degrees Celsius. The National Research Council’s Institute for Bioeconomy said the result surpassed the previous summer record from 2003. That season averaged 23.6 degrees Celsius across the country. The 2026 calculation covers June through August and uses temperatures measured two metres above ground. The finding places this summer at the top of Italy’s 76-year temperature series.
August delivered the strongest heat signal. Its nationwide average reached 25.6 degrees Celsius, exceeding the 1951-1980 August average by 5.2 degrees. It also stood 3.5 degrees above the 1991-2020 August norm. The National Research Council’s Institute for Bioeconomy said August 2026 beat earlier monthly records of 24.6 degrees in 2024 and 24.0 degrees in 2017. ECMWF maintains ERA5-Land, the climate dataset used for the Italian temperature analysis.
July and August 2026 both ranked as the hottest on record in the dataset, according to the institute’s heat maps. The run followed a record spring, when Italy’s national average temperature reached 12.1 degrees Celsius. Spring 2024 also recorded that temperature, matching the seasonal record. From January through August, every month in 2026 was warmer than the corresponding month in 2025. The sequence extended Italy’s elevated temperatures across much of the calendar year.
August breaks previous temperature records
Temperature anomalies spread across much of Italy during the first eight months of 2026. About 70% of national territory recorded anomalies above 1 degree Celsius, while roughly 40% exceeded 2 degrees. The strongest concentrations appeared across northwestern plains and areas along the Apennines. Those zones include large stretches of cultivated land. Higher temperatures and drought affected some agricultural areas during the period. Rome, Florence and Turin also experienced repeated heatwaves during June, July and August.
The record rests on ERA5-Land data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, known as ECMWF. The dataset provides land-surface climate information extending back to 1950. Researchers used the data to compare temperatures across Italy over the full period. Italy’s 24.3-degree summer average stood 0.7 degrees above the 2003 benchmark. August’s 25.6-degree reading also exceeded the 2024 monthly record by 1.0 degree. The cited measurements represent air temperature at two metres above the surface.
Climate data shows widespread Italian heat
The wider Mediterranean also experienced exceptional heat during summer 2026. A separate analysis linked to Italy’s National Research Council found that Mediterranean sea-surface temperatures averaged about 27 degrees Celsius in July. That was the highest July average since 1993. The analysis found that 79% of the Mediterranean experienced at least one strong or more intense marine heatwave. Those marine measurements remain separate from the land-temperature series used to establish Italy’s national summer record.
Italy’s record developed amid widespread summer heat across Europe. European climate assessments identify the continent as the world’s fastest-warming continent in recent decades. Drought and wildfires affected parts of Europe during the 2026 summer period. In Italy, the season followed months of temperatures above their year-earlier levels. It also included the hottest July and August in the temperature dataset. The national figures establish summer 2026 as Italy’s hottest meteorological summer in the ERA5-Land series beginning in 1950.