Temperatures in Italy in 2018 were 1.58˚C above the average for the period between 1971 and 2000, breaking the nation’s previous record which occurred in 2015, when temperatures rose 1.44˚C above average.
According to the CNR, last January was the second hottest since 1800, with temperatures rising 2.37˚C above average.
Meanwhile, April was the hottest ever recorded, with temperatures climbing by 3.50˚C above average.
“Viewed within the context of the last 220 years of Italy’s climate history, this is the umpteenth confirmation of the fact that we are witnessing significant climate change in our country,” the CNR said in a statement.
“Of the 30 hottest years since 1800 to date, 25 [of those hottest years] occurred after 1990.”
Head of the CNR-ISAC database, Michele Brunetti, reiterated this argument.
“The figures show that we are in the presence of significant climate change and that the temperature increase in Italy is stronger than the global average,” he told Italian news agency ANSA.
Last year was also the hottest on record in Austria, Switzerland, France and Germany.
