The ‘Hannibal’ African anticyclone that has brought the year’s first heatwave to Italy will peak this weekend pushing the mercury up to 35-36 degrees across much of the country, forecasters said Friday.
“Hannibal is in full swing now,” said Antonio Sanò, director and founder of iLMeteo.it. He said it had already set several records including the hottest May night in the northern city of Bolzano since 1956, with lows of 21 degrees, “typical of tropical nights.” Sanò went on: “For this weekend, too, there is a chance of breaking other May records. We may well surpass the historic all-time highs registered in this month, especially in some areas of the northwest and in Sardinia. At the moment the records are around 33-34°C, and in some spots we will get very close, or over, those levels.”
Furthermore, the sticky and breathlessly humid heat called ‘afa’ may well cause “real discomfort over the next two days, making the weather even more unbearable,” stated Sanò, adding that the heat wave would last at least until Monday, with lower temperatures followed by thunderstorms on Tuesday.
