Bologna, August 3, 2026 – The scorching and exhausting heat (with record temperatures close to those of 2003) is not letting up. The most difficult weather period of the year is passing in these hours and will reach values very close to 40 degrees in the coming days, although on the horizon there is a slight relief for those gasping in the cities of Emilia Romagna.
However, there is a change on date X announced by Arpae that will mark the arrival of rain, thunderstorms, and a drop in temperatures (4-5 degrees less than the 38-39 expected this week): no longer Friday, August 7, but Saturday, August 8, a day that will bring us a long-awaited cool down.
Orange alert for extreme heat continues in Emilia Romagna
Meanwhile, tomorrow the orange alert for heat continues in the provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna, Ferrara, and Ravenna; and the yellow alert for extreme temperatures in the provinces of Piacenza, Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna, Ravenna, Forlì-Cesena, and Rimini. “For Tuesday, August 4, high maximum temperatures are expected to persist, around 38 degrees or locally higher, in the plains and first hill areas with widespread bioclimatic discomfort – reads the Arpae bulletin -. Furthermore, scattered short thunderstorms cannot be excluded, more likely along the Apennine belt, with possible occasional associated effects” (for details on bioclimatic discomfort consult the web page on Heat Risk Forecasts).
Bologna still red alert Tuesday and Wednesday
The heat is not letting up even on Bologna, which remains under red alert also on Tuesday and Wednesday. The capital of Emilia Romagna has been classified as a maximum risk area for heat waves along with 24 other cities, out of 27 monitored, according to the Ministry of Health alert.
Both tomorrow and Wednesday, only two cities will have an orange alert, indicating health risks for the most vulnerable population groups: Messina and Reggio Calabria.
The cities with red alert on August 4 and 5 are: Bolzano, Campobasso, Civitavecchia, Florence, Frosinone, Latina, Perugia, Rieti, Rome, Turin, Viterbo, Bologna, Brescia, Cagliari, Milan, Naples, Pescara, Venice, Verona, Catania, Genoa, Palermo, Trieste, Ancona, and Bari.
Weather forecast Tuesday, August 4
Tuesday, August 4 will be clear or slightly cloudy with the possibility of local showers. Temperatures will not have significant changes: minimums around 22-23 degrees in rural areas and 24-25 degrees in urban centers; maximums between 38 and 39 degrees in the plains and first hill areas and between 33 and 37 degrees on the coastal sector. Widespread bioclimatic discomfort persists.
Weather forecast Wednesday, August 5
Wednesday, August 5, minimum temperatures slightly rising, with values around 23 degrees in rural areas and 24-25 degrees in urban centers. Maximums almost stationary, with values around 38-39 degrees in the plains and first hill areas and between 32 and 36 degrees on the coastal sector. Widespread bioclimatic discomfort persists.
Weather trend in Emilia-Romagna from Thursday, August 6 to Sunday, August 9
The weather will change over the weekend while before that heat wave conditions and widespread bioclimatic discomfort persist, with minimum temperatures around 24/25 degrees and maximums around 38/39 degrees until Friday.
The sky will remain mostly clear or slightly cloudy, except for the development of cumulus clouds with daytime evolution on the hills, associated with the possibility of showers or scattered thunderstorms.
From Friday, however, a slight drop in the barometric field will bring infiltrations of cooler air at altitude which, in a still mostly sunny context, may favor the development of thunderstorms and a temperature drop of 4-5 degrees over the weekend.
