Walker - 1967 - A geography of Italy

PART II : SOME PH YSIC A L GEOGRAPHY
the lower valleys can be oppressive (Sondrio 2i-9°C) and higher up care must be
taken not to expose oneself too long and too quickly to the strong insolation.
Cortina (1275m) averages I5-8°C in July, Bormio (1225m) I7’3°C and Capracotta
(1421m) i 8-2°C.
f;j-
In winter the average temperature situation reveals a strong contrast between
the more maritime Mediterranean peninsula and the continental North. The
latter is exposed to cold Polar maritime and Polar continental airstreams and in
anticyclonic periods the Po Valley in particular is susceptible to temperature
inversion. In fact the winter in that area, though short, can be thoroughly unpleasant.
Milan can expect some 60 days o f frost and as many days with fog, and
with the increasing pollution o f the atmosphere by industry, the city’s ‘smogs’
are becoming notorious. The January mean at Milan is i-2°C, at Turin 0-3°,
54