Temperature variations over Italy: database extension and update of the calculation methodology

The SCIA system (SCIA), set up for the collection, elaboration and diffusion of climatological data, provides a databank of quality controlled statistics at different time scales (i.e., 10-daily, monthly and yearly) for the main climatic variables, using data originating from national and regional meteorological networks. Recently, this system has been extended with a new dataset of daily observations of temperature (maximum and minimum) and precipitation for Italy, retrieving observation records from different sources. It responds to the need of investigating climate changes on a regional and local scale, with particular attention to climatic extreme variations, which have potential impacts on the environment and health. In this report the new database useful for temperature variation assessment in Italy (mean and extreme values) is described and the methodology for detecting and correcting breakpoints in daily temperature series, that is fundamental for correct trend estimates, is illustrated. This homogenization methodology was completely revised and updated with respect to the previous works.