Is Sardinia warming up? There are opinions. And then the data, such as those taken into consideration by the Arpas meteorological department which drew up the latest report “Analysis of weather conditions and consequences on the regional territory”: the reference period is from October 2023 to September 2024. We are talking about rain and temperatures. The sign is minus (a lot) for the former and plus for the latter, minimum and maximum. A comforting picture does not emerge.
It is written that the year "was characterized by slightly deficient precipitation overall, but in reality with strong spatial and temporal variability". From a spatial point of view "the rainfall was strongly below average in southern and eastern Sardinia and slightly above average in the rest of the island. The precipitation in the area between Nurra and Logudoro was also deficient".
Then there is the temporal factor: «Precipitation in Sardinia was strongly below average during the so-called rainy season (October-April) and abundant in the late spring-summer five-month period», explain Arpas, «this imbalance during the year had repercussions on short-term drought indicators».
Finally, temperatures "were higher than the climatology, with an annual average of maximums that make it the third hottest ever. This is a result in line with the secular trend of global warming in Sardinia". Which is not favorable.
In most of the inland plain areas, average maximum temperatures exceeded 24 °C. In almost all the rest of the island, however, maximum temperatures always settled between 20 °C and 24 °C. In the mountains, they were below 20 °C. These were above-average values across the island, between +1.5 and +2 °C in the western sectors and between +2 °C and +2.5 °C in the eastern and southern sectors. A significant increase.
On the minimum front, always looking at the averages, «the coasts exceeded 12 °C, with peaks above 14 °C in some parts of the southern and eastern coast. Even in the mountain areas the minimum averages were high, with values around 6/8 °C». The anomalies compared to the historical averages «are positive, with values between +0.5 °C and +1 °C, throughout the regional territory». In particular, the maximums of October are exceptional, which presented positive anomalies in the plains up to 3 °C and 4 °C.
With regard to rainfall and water availability, it is highlighted that «in the first half of the year» of the period considered, «we can observe prevailing conditions of water surplus in the months from November to February, while the months of October and March are characterized by conditions of widespread water deficit, with the most critical situations concentrated along the eastern side and in the southern part. From the month of April», then, «we have deficit conditions throughout the island territory with the exception of the month of September in which widespread surplus conditions are recorded in the center-north».
The consequences of these phenomena have been felt in the countryside. "In particular," explains Arpas, "the scarce autumn rains that characterized some areas of the island, the hot and dry period of April and the hailstorms of early May created the greatest problems." Another example concerns the vines: "The rains that characterized the last part of August facilitated the formation of rot and mold, which may have affected the quality of the grapes. In some areas, the phenological ripening phase was reached and the table and white grape cultivars were harvested. During the month, the presence of Cochineal (Planococcus ficus) was found and in some areas of Striped Moth (Cryptoblabes gnidiella) and Leafhoppers." In September, "the weather conditions necessary for the manifestation of grey mould (Botrytis cinerea), rot and powdery mildew continued, and the presence of striped moth (Cryptoblabes gnidiella) was found."
