Adriatic climate and the great landslide of 1982
Temperate Adriatic-coast climate: hot breezy summers, damp winters with bora winds and occasional snow, rain spread through the year with autumn peaks. Hydrogeological risk is the local issue: the landslide of 13 December 1982 involved a whole strip of the city to the north-west (Posatora, Borghetto) and is now monitored by a municipal early-warning system.
Sections: Seasons · Rainfall · Temperatures · Air quality · Environmental hazards
The climate
Ancona has a temperate climate with Adriatic influence. Summer is hot but rarely oppressive thanks to the sea breeze; winter is cool and damp, with bora episodes from the north-east that make temperatures feel lower and occasional snowfalls (those of February 2012 were exceptional). Rain is spread through the year with autumn peaks; summer storms are short. Air quality is generally good thanks to ventilation, with PM10 limit exceedances confined to a few days a year at urban stations (see data).
The 1982 landslide and monitoring
On 13 December 1982 the north-western slope of the city, on the Montagnolo hill, moved in one of Europe's largest urban landslides: the Posatora and Borghetto districts, the railway and the state road were affected, more than three thousand people were evacuated and hundreds of buildings damaged, with no casualties. The landslide area is still slowly moving and largely unbuildable; since the late 2000s the Comune has run a monitoring and early-warning system with GPS sensors and inclinometers, evacuation plans for the remaining residents and a control centre. Anyone looking for housing in the north-west (Posatora, Palombella, Torrette) finds the risk areas marked in the municipal planning documents.
Other hazards
The coast north of the city and the port are exposed to bora and scirocco storm surges; the clay hills inland see frequent minor landslides after prolonged rain. Seismicity is moderate: Ancona was hit by a prolonged seismic swarm in 1972, which damaged the historic centre, and feels earthquakes from the Marche Apennines (2016) and the Adriatic Sea (November 2022, off Pesaro).
Data
Sources
Updated: 2026-10-14
Updated: 2026-10-14
Updated: 2026-10-14
Reviewed: 10/23/2026 · by piero.avolio · rev. 1 · Period: → 2027-10-31
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