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So this is a question I have been wondering for a while now.. having been to Milan, Turin etc in summer, especially the former, just what is it that makes them so hot for their latitude in summer?
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milan]Milan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/url]
Milan is at 45 degrees north, yet gets summers with temperatures similar to a Mediterranean climate. The climate box for wikipedia is also for one of the airports which is quite a way from the city itself. Temperatures in the centre of Milan in summer are closer to 30/19 instead of the 28/17 at the airport.
I find it weird, because places further east and west in Europe at the same latitude are not as warm in summer, and it is not in a particularly continental position. Any ideas?
It's not really that hot (26C,29C,28C), even at 45N. Maybe the fact that Milan is nestled in Po Valley adds to the higher temperatures. Valleys usually do a good job in trapping heat during the summer.
Bucharest at 44N is as warm or warmer during the summer (27C,29C,29C)
Hot summer temperatures in Northern Italy are the result of the sub-continental character of the Po Valley. The Alps and the Apennines shelter the plain from the oceanic winds.
In winter, there are fog and strong inversions. In summer, there are notable heat waves. It seems strange, but Milan lies in a continental position.
The averages posted by irlinit are very old and don't match the actual summer climate of the city. Summers are now regularly 1.5°C/2°C hotter than they were in the 1970s
1981-2010 averages for Milan airport are:
June 16.5°C/27.5°C
July 18.9°C/30.2°C
August 18.4°C/29.6°C
Milan-Linate airport is influenced by the urban heat island. But the city centre has even higher temperatures due to the strong urban heat island effect, of course.
I don't think irlinit is wrong saying that the Po Plain has one the hottest summers for their latitude in Europe and, probably, in the world.
First, you better pick the 1981-2010 Milan averages for a correct comparison with Minneapolis or Walla Walla (which are still cooler than Milan). Italian summers are now much hotter than the past decades (1960s and 1970s summers were among the coolest of the XX century in Italy).
Also, remember that Italy is on the western side of a continent, quite close to the ocean and very close to the Mediterranean sea, while central USA/Canada are very far from any ocean. Only very continental places at 45°N have comparable summers in the entire world.
Bologna, compared to Bucharest or any place in Eastern Europe at its latitude of 44°N, is still hotter in summer.
I don't think irlinit is wrong saying that the Po Plain has one the hottest summers for their latitude in Europe and, probably, in the world.
First, you better pick the 1981-2010 Milan averages for a correct comparison with Minneapolis or Walla Walla (which are still cooler than Milan). Italian summers are now much hotter than the past decades (1960s and 1970s summers were among the coolest of the XX century in Italy).
Also, remember that Italy is on the western side of a continent, quite close to the ocean and very close to the Mediterranean sea, while central USA/Canada are very far from any ocean. Only very continental places at 45°N have comparable summers in the entire world.
Bologna, compared to Bucharest or any place in Eastern Europe at its latitude of 44°N, is still hotter in summer.
The main reason for the warmer climate in Milan is that it is at a much lower elevation than you'd find in North America at 53N. Lytton is the same distance from the ocean (and a much colder ocean to boot), 5 degrees further north, and at a higher elevation, and still manages to be within a degree of Milan for daily highs in the summer.
Milan is far enough from the Mediterranean to avoid any moderating effects in the summer, so I think it's fair to use a place further inland. Let's look at Billings, Montana. The mean is about the same as Milan during the hottest month, and yet it is 830 m higher in elevation. If we account for the difference elevation, Billings would be at least 4 degrees warmer.
The main reason for the warmer climate in Milan is that it is at a much lower elevation than you'd find in North America at 53N. Lytton is the same distance from the ocean (and a much colder ocean to boot), 5 degrees further north, and at a higher elevation, and still manages to be within a degree of Milan for daily highs in the summer.
Milan is far enough from the Mediterranean to avoid any moderating effects in the summer, so I think it's fair to use a place further inland. Let's look at Billings, Montana. The mean is about the same as Milan during the hottest month, and yet it is 830 m higher in elevation. If we account for the difference elevation, Billings would be at least 4 degrees warmer.
Ok. However, my city is a seaside resort on the south-eastern corner of Northern Italy at 44°N, mitigated by regular sea breezes in summer, and its 1981-2010 averages are quite high too (at the airport, which has cooler lows than the city):
June 17.6°C/26.2°C
July 20.3°C/29.0°C
August 20.1°C/28.7°C
The city of Cesena, just 20 km inland has much higher highs in summer. But also the cities of Ferrara, Verona, Forlì, Faenza, Bologna, Modena are hotter than Milan.
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