ROME, ITALY / RankWire.AI / – In 2026, Italy encountered its most scorching summer since 1950, with an average national temperature of 24.3 degrees Celsius. The National Research Council’s Institute for Bioeconomy reported that this figure surpassed the previous summer record set in 2003, which had an average of 23.6 degrees Celsius across Italy. The analysis covers June through August, based on temperatures measured two metres above ground, placing this summer at the top of Italy’s 76-year temperature records.
August was the peak of the heat, with a nationwide average reaching 25.6 degrees Celsius, surpassing the 1951-1980 August average by 5.2 degrees and exceeding the 1991-2020 August norm by 3.5 degrees. The National Research Council’s Institute for Bioeconomy noted that August 2026 beat previous monthly records of 24.6 degrees in 2024 and 24.0 degrees in 2017. ECMWF’s ERA5-Land dataset provided the climate data used for this temperature analysis.
Both July and August 2026 ranked as the hottest months in the record, according to the institute’s heat maps. This followed a record-breaking spring, when Italy’s national average temperature reached 12.1 degrees Celsius, matching the seasonal record set in spring 2024. From January through August, each month in 2026 was warmer than the same month in 2025, extending Italy’s elevated temperature trend across much of the year.
August Sets New Temperature Milestones
During the first eight months of 2026, temperature anomalies were widespread across Italy, with around 70% of the territory recording anomalies over 1 degree Celsius, and approximately 40% exceeding 2 degrees. The most significant anomalies appeared in the northwestern plains and along the Apennines, regions with large expanses of cultivated land, where higher temperatures and drought affected agriculture. Major cities like Rome, Florence, and Turin also experienced repeated heatwaves in June, July, and August.
These records are based on ERA5-Land data from ECMWF, which provides land-surface climate information dating back to 1950. Researchers utilized this data to compare temperatures across Italy for the entire period. Italy’s summer average of 24.3 degrees was 0.7 degrees above the 2003 benchmark, while August’s 25.6-degree temperature surpassed the 2024 monthly record by 1.0 degree. All measurements refer to air temperature at two metres above ground level.
Widespread Heat Marks Italy’s Summer
The broader Mediterranean region also experienced exceptional heat during summer 2026. An independent analysis linked to Italy’s National Research Council revealed that sea-surface temperatures in the Mediterranean averaged about 27 degrees Celsius in July, the highest July average since 1993. The same analysis showed that 79% of the Mediterranean Sea experienced at least one intense marine heatwave, although these marine conditions are separate from the land-temperature series used for Italy’s national record.
Italy’s record summer coincided with widespread heat across Europe, a continent identified as the world’s fastest-warming region in recent decades by climate assessments. The season was marked by droughts and wildfires, with Italy experiencing months of above-average temperatures, including the hottest July and August in the historical temperature dataset. Italy’s figures confirm summer 2026 as the hottest meteorological summer recorded in the ERA5-Land series since 1950.