Temperature changes in the North-Western Italian Alps from 1961 to 2010

The aim of this study was to identify any possible temperature changes within the last 50 years in the North-Western Italian Alps by examining data from 16 high-altitude weather stations in the period 1961-2010. The daily temperature time series were collected, digitized and subjected to a historical research to individuate discontinuities and retrieve metadata. We also carried out the data quality control and the homogenization which allowed the climatic indices trend detection. The analysis of the temperature values showed an increase in temperature, particularly at high-altitudes sites. In fact, the stations located above 1600 m asl revealed a rise in temperatures and a decrease in the number of cold periods. For the maximum temperatures, greater increases in spring and winter have been observed, for minimum temperatures in the summer. These trends confirm that climate change is occurring in an environment particularly sensitive to temperature changes, especially during the season of snow accumulation and vegetative growth. These results may be important for policy makers to define the best adaptation strategies in order to protect one of the most sensitive environments such as mountains.