May gave us a taste of the heat that we will feel in the summer of 2026. A “record” heat according to experts, who underlined the anomaly of the temperatures recorded in Italy and Europe. According to the Italian Meteo Center we reached and exceeded 35°C due to a high pressure “bubble” that warmed the soil throughout the Old Continent.
From a meteorological point of view, for expert Federico Brescia, summer started earlier and with it all the problems that an anomalous season brings with it: from drought to extreme events, up to heat stroke. In France, for example, government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon declared that there have already been 7 deaths linked directly or indirectly to the heat.
Hot in May and record temperatures
The Italian Meteo Center explained what happened in May (after an already record-breaking April). High pressure fell across Europe, including Italy, reaching 1030 hPa in the central sectors of the Old Continent. In other words, a “bubble” of hot air that has settled over Europe, causing temperatures to rise above the seasonal average. In some areas, +10 °C compared to typical values were reached, as happened in the United Kingdom.
In some Italian locations, especially in the North, temperatures have reached and exceeded 35°C. For example to:
- Brescia with 35.4 °C;
- Turin with 34.9 °C;
- Asti with 34.2 °C;
- Wedge with 31.9 °C.
What will summer 2026 be like?
The meteorologist Federico Brescia, of IlMeteo.it, explained that:
Due to global warming they have more warm air inside them and are able to expand further north.
Looking at the summer, the maps from the European Center for Medium-Term Weather Forecasts (Ecmwf) indicate that we will continue to have a succession of heat waves and moments of slightly cooler air throughout the summer.
Brescia explains it like this:
It’s as if nature had a high fever at that moment and sweats to balance itself but the fever remains.
Dying from the heat: the first victims
You die from the heat. In recent years the figures have been sadly high. From June to August 2025, for example, 1,156 people died due to heat in Milan alone, while 835 died in Rome and 579 in Naples. In total, 4,597 victims of high temperatures were counted in Italy.
However, 2025 was “only” the third warmest year on record. If we look at the first in this ranking, the deaths are much higher. In fact, in the summer of 2024 there were tens of thousands of victims across Europe.
Among the most affected countries are those in the Mediterranean basin such as Italy, where over 19 thousand deaths linked to high summer temperatures have been estimated.
Deaths from heat: estimates for 2026
Even if 2026 will not be the hottest summer (according to data from the World Meteorological Organization the record will fall to summer 2027), the deaths have started earlier than usual. The death toll starts from June 1st and ends in August, but the record heat in May brought the season forward.
France and the United Kingdom have already announced the first deaths, 7 and 5 people respectively; in Italy there is no data yet, but illnesses in the workplace and in schools are reported in the news.
