The Ispra report on the climate in Italy:«2022 was the warmest and least rainy year since 1961»

Last year the temperatures recorded in our country were 1.23°C higher than the 1991-2020 average

2022 was the warmest and least rainy year in Italy since 1961, the year in which complete scientific data on temperatures began to be collected.This is revealed by the annual report «Climate in Italy» drawn up by Ispra and the National System for Environmental Protection (SNPA).According to the report, last year the average temperature exceeded the previous record of 2018 by 0.58°C and was 1.23°C higher than the average recorded between 1991 and 2020.Analyzing the temperatures of individual periods of the year, the anomaly becomes even more evident.In 2022, all months recorded temperatures above average, with the exception of March and April.The peak was reached in June (+3.09%), followed by July, October and December.Overall, in the three summer months temperatures were 2.18°C above average.This is followed by autumn with +1.38°C and winter with +0.58°C.The data from the report published today by Ispra and SNPA confirm what the scientific community has been saying for years:with the exception of the Arctic, Europe is the continent that is warming the fastest due to climate change.According to the latest report from Copernicus and the World Meteorological Organization, in 2022 the average temperature in Europe was 2.3 degrees above pre-industrial levels (1850 – 1900).

The drought in the North and the situation of the glaciers

Along with the heat, 2022 stood out for another phenomenon:drought.Last year, rainfall in Italy reached an all-time low and recorded -22% compared to the average for the period 1991-2020.The most anomalous drop in rainfall occurred between January and July (-39%) and mainly affected the northern regions.In the North, rainfall was 33% below average, in the Center 15%, in the South and on the islands 13%.The now famous one hundred days without rain recorded in the Po Valley last year are empirically confirmed in the data provided today by Ispra and SNPA and have led to a strong reduction in the natural water available.In 2022, the annual availability in Italy was estimated at 221.7 mm (approximately 67 cubic kilometers):a figure that has decreased by 50% compared to the average of the last 30 years and which represents the historical minimum from 1951 to today.High temperatures and low rainfall have also had an effect on the health of Alpine glaciers.According to the Ispra-SNPA report, in 2022 glacial melting in the north-western sector of the Alps was four times more intense than the average of the last 20 years.

Photo credits:ANSA/Massimo Percossi