According to a study by the Cnr, 2018 was a record year for heat: more than 1.58 degrees above the average of the last thirty years. Data that confirm climate change.
2018 was the hottest year in Italy since 1800 to date: with an anomaly of +1.58°C (degrees centigrade) above the average, last year surpassed the previous record set in 2015 (+1.44 degrees above the average). The estimate comes from the Cnr, Consiglio nazionale delle ricerche, based on statistical data that nonetheless take as their reference the average of the last thirty years, which according to Istat stands at 14.5 degrees. The Cnr, on the other hand, does not provide an aggregate average, but instead bases its figures on the sum of readings from various monitoring stations located at widely differing latitudes and altitudes.
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Aside from the months of February (which recorded a negative anomaly) and March (with values in line with the average), all the other ten months of 2018 recorded positive anomalies, nine of them of more than one degree above the average.
Read also: Cosa sono i cambiamenti climatici, cause e conseguenze
Particularly exceptional were the months of January (the second warmest January since 1800 to date, with an anomaly of +2.37 degrees above the average) and April (the warmest on record, with an anomaly of +3.50 degrees above the average).
According to researcher Michele Brunetti, head of the historical climatology database at the Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate in Bologna, "the 2018 anomaly, if examined in isolation, does not allow us to draw conclusions regarding ongoing trends; however, when viewed in the context of the last 220 years of Italy's climate history, it is yet another confirmation of the fact that we are witnessing a significant climate change for our country. Significant is the fact that of the 30 warmest years since 1800 to date, 25 have occurred after 1990. The exceptional nature of 2018 was not limited to Italy — the year just ended proved to be the warmest since observations have been available also for France, Switzerland, Germany and Austria."
