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Weather Overview for Sardinia

Sardinia, in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Italy, enjoys a pleasant marine Mediterranean climate with an exceedingly long summer and a short, humid winter, interspersed with three short rainy seasons. The north is usually slightly wetter than the south and great geographical diversity gives rise to a number of microclimates on the large island. It is known for being a windy island as it is in the path of the western Ponte winds, Arctic winds, the Alps’ Mistral wind, the African Libeccio wind, the north-African Levante wind and the Saharan Sirocco wind.

Sardinia’s summer lasts from May till October, though sea temperatures can be extremely nippy at the beginning of the season averaging at 14ºC. Early and late summer sees temperatures in the mid 20s while the peak of the season sees averages up to 30ºC. In July and August even the nights remain close to 20ºC. However, by the coast there is rarely a time when Sardinia’s heat becomes overwhelming as the welcome sea breeze blows all year round. While in some Mediterranean countries it is advisable to avoid the peak months, this means Sardinia is agreeable throughout the peak months, if a little humid for golfers, hikers and cyclists. July is a very dry month regularly seeing twelve hours of sunshine a day, with the chance of rain increasing at either end of the summer season.

The winter is usually quite mild with most days getting to around 14ºC, though the evenings can be very cool if not cold. From October till April the chance of rain is much greater. Sardinia actually has three rainy seasons falling around October, December through till January and in March but the whole period is generally unpredictable and wetter. However, most of the rain falls on the mountainous regions and north of Sardinia and the coasts often remain clear. The mountains often receive snow above five hundred metres with some areas seeing snow cover for up to five months of the year.

Sardinia has an incredibly varied landscape with each different habitat seeing different weather conditions. Surrounding Cagliari in the southeast are lush protected wetlands which experience mild and humid weather. To the north of these stretches an area of flat, arid plains where temperatures are more extreme. Nearing the mountains it becomes milder again with rolling vineyards and olive groves thriving in the fertile soil. The cooler, wetter mountains are densely forested. The warm weather and dramatic landscape have made Sardinia a chosen destination for people looking for very different holidays; those after a relaxing holiday come to soak up the sun on Sardinia’s many beaches while water sport enthusiasts enjoy scuba-diving, snorkelling, wind-surfing and more; hikers head for the hills while climbers scale the mountains and painters paint the scenes before them; golfers are spoilt for choice as hang gliders float above them and, smartest of all, the gastronome lets the scenery remain in the background as they tuck into some porceddu – a famous traditional dish of suckling pig cooked on a spit.

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