Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Sardinia Italy

In Sardinia, the summers are short, hot, humid, arid, and mostly clear and the winters are long, cold, windy, and partly cloudy. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 42°F to 89°F and is rarely below 34°F or above 95°F.

Based on the beach/pool score, the best time of year to visit Sardinia for hot-weather activities is from late June to early September.

The hot season lasts for 2.8 months, from June 18 to September 13, with an average daily high temperature above 82°F. The hottest month of the year in Sardinia is August, with an average high of 88°F and low of 68°F.

The cool season lasts for 4.1 months, from November 22 to March 27, with an average daily high temperature below 64°F. The coldest month of the year in Sardinia is January, with an average low of 42°F and high of 58°F.

In Sardinia, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Sardinia begins around June 14 and lasts for 2.7 months, ending around September 6.

The clearest month of the year in Sardinia is July, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 91% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around September 6 and lasts for 9.3 months, ending around June 14.

The cloudiest month of the year in Sardinia is November, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 43% of the time.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days in Sardinia varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 7.5 months, from September 26 to May 10, with a greater than 15% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Sardinia is November, with an average of 7.8 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 4.5 months, from May 10 to September 26. The month with the fewest wet days in Sardinia is July, with an average of 0.6 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. The month with the most days of rain alone in Sardinia is November, with an average of 7.8 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 28% on November 21.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Sardinia experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 8.9 months, from August 30 to May 27, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Sardinia is November, with an average rainfall of 1.9 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 3.1 months, from May 27 to August 30. The month with the least rain in Sardinia is July, with an average rainfall of 0.1 inches.

The length of the day in Sardinia varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2023, the shortest day is December 22, with 9 hours, 20 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 15 hours, 1 minute of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:54 AM on June 14, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 54 minutes later at 7:48 AM on October 28. The earliest sunset is at 4:58 PM on December 8, and the latest sunset is 3 hours, 58 minutes later at 8:56 PM on June 28.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in Sardinia during 2023, starting in the spring on March 26, lasting 7.1 months, and ending in the fall on October 29.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2023. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

Sardinia experiences extreme seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 4.4 months, from June 9 to October 20, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 14% of the time. The month with the most muggy days in Sardinia is August, with 16.8 days that are muggy or worse.

The least muggy day of the year is February 7, when muggy conditions are essentially unheard of.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in Sardinia experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 6.7 months, from October 21 to May 11, with average wind speeds of more than 9.8 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Sardinia is February, with an average hourly wind speed of 11.5 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 5.3 months, from May 11 to October 21. The calmest month of the year in Sardinia is August, with an average hourly wind speed of 8.1 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Sardinia is from the west throughout the year.

Sardinia is located near a large body of water (e.g., ocean, sea, or large lake). This section reports on the wide-area average surface temperature of that water.

The average water temperature experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The time of year with warmer water lasts for 2.8 months, from July 5 to September 29, with an average temperature above 73°F. The month of the year in Sardinia with the warmest water is August, with an average temperature of 77°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 4.6 months, from December 14 to May 2, with an average temperature below 61°F. The month of the year in Sardinia with the coolest water is February, with an average temperature of 57°F.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Sardinia throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Sardinia for general outdoor tourist activities are from early May to mid July and from early September to mid October, with a peak score in the second week of June.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Sardinia for hot-weather activities is from late June to early September, with a peak score in the third week of July.

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

While it does not do so every year, freezing temperatures are seen in Sardinia over some winters. The day least likely to be in the growing season is January 13, with a 56% chance.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

Based on growing degree days alone, the first spring blooms in Sardinia should appear around February 2, only rarely appearing before January 21 or after February 16.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.2 months, from May 12 to August 18, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.8 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Sardinia is July, with an average of 7.8 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.6 months, from October 28 to February 14, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 3.3 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Sardinia is December, with an average of 2.1 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Sardinia are 40.000 deg latitude, 9.000 deg longitude, and 0 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Sardinia is essentially flat, with a maximum elevation change of 0 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 0 feet. Within 10 miles is also essentially flat (0 feet). Within 50 miles is also essentially flat (0 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Sardinia is covered by cropland (57%) and trees (41%), within 10 miles by trees (36%) and cropland (31%), and within 50 miles by cropland (33%) and water (24%).