We’ve noticed that it’s been hot. But just how hot? During the summer that ended yesterday, the average maximum surface temperature in all Italian regional capitals exceeded 40 degrees. The data—collected via satellite over urban surfaces, from rooftops to road asphalt to green spaces—comes froman analysis by Greenpeace Italy based on datasets provided byISTAT researchersStefano Tersigni and Alessandro Cimbelli. In 2025, only ten out of twenty regional capitals had exceeded that threshold. This represents a significant and very rapid deterioration.
The acceleration was rapid
Rome recorded the highest temperature, with an average of 46.9 degrees, followed by Turin and Florence. At the other end of the spectrum was Trento, with 40.1 degrees, the only regional capital to remain just above 40 degrees. Rome, Turin, and Perugia also hold a second negative record: the largest increase in average surface temperature compared to the 2014–2019 and 2020–2025 periods. On average, across all provincial capitals, the increase is +2.6 degrees compared to the first period and +1.1 degrees compared to the second.
Approximately 9 million people ended up in the “heat island” area, where maximum surface temperatures exceeded 40 degrees : 28% more than the 2014–2019 average and 10% more than in 2020–2025. This large group includes 320,000 children under the age of five and 1.2 million people over the age of 74—people who are particularly vulnerable to such intense and prolonged heat stress.
Children and the elderly are most at risk
“Extreme heat does not affect everyone the same way: the ones paying the highest price are the elderly, children, those living in poorly insulated homes or who cannot afford to cool them, and workers exposed to temperatures that put their health at risk,” explains Simona Abbate, Climate and Energy Campaigner at Greenpeace Italy. “These figures show that the climate crisis is already turning heat waves into a serious health and social emergency in our cities.”
As is well known, this phenomenon is caused by heat islands that exacerbate the effects of the climate crisis: asphalt, concrete, and buildings accumulate heat and release it after sunset, making nights a nightmare for those without air conditioning (which, in any case, makes life worse for others by blowing hot air onto the streets and consuming energy). According to the study, in the summer of 2026, the average temperature difference between Turin and its suburban areas exceeded +15 degrees; in Florence, it stood at +14.8 degrees; and in Rome, at +14.2 degrees. Trento was the only regional capital to record a negative heat island intensity (-1.0 degrees).
Those Primarily Responsible
An initial report published in August by the British newspaper The Guardian had estimated at least 35,000 excess deaths during the heat waves that struck Europe. This figure is still preliminary and an underestimate (already revised to over 40,000), as several countries have not yet completed their summer mortality surveys.
“These figures show the human cost of the climate crisis that we continue to fuel,” Abbate concludes. This cost cannot fall on people and local governments while the fossil fuel industry—the primary culprit behind global warming—continues to rake in enormous profits. The government must tax the profits of the fossil fuel sector and allocate these resources to reducing emissions, transitioning to a 100% renewable energy system, and addressing the losses and damages caused by the climate crisis.
