An anomaly of 3.9 degrees above the regional average for maximum temperatures: last September in Sardinia was warmer than the global average recorded by Copernicus. It was the second warmest after 2023, with an average temperature more than 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels. European highs of 4-6 degrees Celsius, recorded in southern France, Spain, Portugal, and parts of Italy, are higher than the Sardinian average for maximum temperatures recorded by the Meteoclimatic Department of ARPAS, the Regional Agency for Environmental Protection.
As meteorologist Pier Luigi Trudu explains, the global average calculated by Copernicus is lower because it includes areas, such as the polar regions, where anomalies are more limited.
September on the island was also dry, without the afternoon and evening thunderstorms typical of the period, therefore less rainy than last year.
In fact, according to ARPAS data, the entire summer in Sardinia was off the charts: the maximum temperature anomalies were +3.3 degrees in June, +4 degrees in July, and +3 degrees in August. In particular, last July (a "truly off-the-charts July," Trudu calls it) a record high of 48.4 degrees was recorded in Orani, "two tenths above the previous record for the summer of 2023," observes the ARPAS meteorologist, "recorded in Jerzu and Lotzorai."
From June to September , Sardinia was hit by a series of heat waves of varying intensity due to the persistence of high pressure over the Mediterranean, the so-called African anticyclone, which brought warm air masses from Africa to the island, a phenomenon attributed to global warming. The scientific community agrees that heat waves are becoming more intense and frequent due to climate change.
2026 has also been marked by other extreme events, such as Cyclone Harry in January and the intense storm surges in February. The sea is also much warmer than usual. In Cagliari, according to ARPAS data, it reached a maximum of around 29 degrees Celsius in mid-August. Now, in mid-October, the latest reading is 24.8 degrees Celsius. "The warmer the sea surface, the more latent heat it can release into the atmosphere," Trudu explains, looking ahead to the coming months, "so to develop even very intense thunderstorms."
