Heatwave: Italy in the path of the anticyclone

Unlike previous heatwaves, in which

the African anticyclone only touched our peninsula, the

trajectory of the current mass of warm air is more eastward and

is therefore fully impacting Italy, an expert said Monday.

"Currently, the hot air rising from Africa is moving

northeastward from Algeria," Lorenzo Giovannini, an atmospheric

physicist at the University of Trento, told ANSA.

"Sardinia is particularly affected, and, towards midweek, the

Tyrrhenian coast will also be affected." Forecasts indicate that

the heat wave will continue until the end of the week, after

which the arrival of cooler air could moderate temperatures

somewhat.

"This week, it will be very hot almost everywhere," adds

Giovannini, "perhaps only the Alpine region will be excluded.

Cooler air is expected to arrive from the northeast over the

weekend, lowering temperatures first in the northern regions and

then gradually moving southward in the following days."

The increased energy accumulated by the atmosphere during heat

waves like the current one can also trigger more violent

thunderstorms than usual: all it takes is a small amount of air

at lower temperatures to reach the column of very hot air that

accumulates in the atmospheric layers closest to the ground.

"When cooler air infiltrates during very high temperatures,"

says Giovannini, "it can trigger very intense thunderstorms, and

this also increases the possibility of lightning, which, as has

always been the case, could trigger wildfires, especially if

vegetation is very dry."

Related stories