temperature · Italy
Floridia, Sicily
August peak daily maximum
Modelled demonstration series · not observed data
The Mediterranean is warming faster than the global average, and this island sits in the middle of it. A peak like this comes with a sea that no longer cools the air moving over it, so the nights stay hot too. Fire risk, not comfort, is what this reading actually forecasts.
75 years, modelled
Same reading, two normals
| Normal | Mean | σ | Pct | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1951–1980 | 38.9 °C | +1.90σ | 97th | 1 in 35 years |
| 1991–2020 | 40.8 °C | +1.16σ | 88th | 1 in 8.1 years |
Today would rank 7 of 76 for highest value in the modelled series. Nothing about the reading changes between rows — only the yardstick.
Documented real-world record · well documented
48.8 °C — 11 August 2021
A station near Floridia recorded 48.8 °C, subsequently verified by the World Meteorological Organization as the highest temperature reliably measured in Europe.
The season here
August highs here arrive with the sirocco — Saharan air crossing the Mediterranean and landing on the island already superheated.
Where this series comes from
MODELLED SERIES — not observed. Parameters set from published south-eastern Sicily August climatology. The 75 annual values are synthesised. The real-world record cited separately is documented and is NOT part of this modelled series.
Every number on this page comes from a modelled series: 75 annual values synthesised by a seeded generator from published climatological parameters for Floridia, Sicily. It shows how anomaly reasoning works. It is not a measurement and must not be cited as one.
How to read σ
σ counts standard deviations from this place's own normal. The sigma guide · return periods.
More temperature stations
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