Clare Speak - clare.speak@thelocal.com

Updated: Thu 25 Jun 2026 10:22 CET

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From canicola to afa, here's the Italian vocabulary you'll need for a heatwave. Photo by Andreas SOLARO / AFP.

Italian meteorologists describe mythological figures descending from Africa and ancient dog stars rising at dawn, when all you wanted to know was how hot it's going to get this weekend. So what exactly are they talking about?