Northern Italy Sees Hottest October Since 1800

On Tuesday, National Research Council climatologist Giulio Betti released data showing that large swathes of northern Italy have this year experienced the hottest October since records began in 1800.

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Temperatures reached 3.18 degrees Celsius above normal levels in the northern part of the country. However, in Italy as a whole, temperatures were high but not record-breaking. 

The Council said they were 2.08 degrees Celsius higher than normal, the second-highest increase compared to normal levels, just behind the record of 2.13 degrees Celsius reached in 2001.

In addition to the high temperatures, much of the country has also suffered from a lack of rainfall, and an increase in extreme weather events including storms, floods, and strong winds.

The record high temperatures in October followed a long and unusually dry heatwave in Italy in the summer months, which resulted in hundreds of deaths and slashed agricultural output. This year is on track to be the hottest ever recorded nationally.

"October 2022 was also a drier-than-average month across much of southern Europe and the Caucasus region," Agenzia Italia reported, presenting data showing that extreme climate variations operate in several directions simultaneously.

"In contrast, October was a wetter month than average in other parts of Europe, namely the northwestern Iberian Peninsula, parts of France and Germany, the UK and Ireland, northwestern Scandinavia, a large area of Eastern Europe and Central Turkey."