Climate and natural hazards

The coast from Martinsicuro to Vasto has an Adriatic climate with hot summers and mild winters that are nevertheless exposed to cold outbreaks from the north-east, bringing snow down to the sea in some winters. Behind the hills the climate is continental and mountainous: L'Aquila (700 m) has long winters with frequent frost and heavy snowfall; Roccaraso, Campo Imperatore, Campo Felice and Ovindoli are the main ski resorts; the Maiella and Gran Sasso keep snow until late spring. Inland summers are cool and dry.

Seismic risk

Almost the whole Abruzzo Apennine ridge is in seismic zone 1 under the Civil Protection classification, the coast in zone 3. The earthquake of 6 April 2009 (magnitude 6.3) killed 309 people in L'Aquila and nearby municipalities, destroyed much of the historic centre and moved tens of thousands of people into the new C.A.S.E. districts and MAP housing; the centre has only partly become habitable again. The 2016–2017 sequence hit the L'Aquila area (Campotosto, Montereale) and the Teramo area (Valle Castellana) and on 18 January 2017, together with exceptional snowfall, triggered the avalanche that engulfed the Rigopiano hotel at Farindola. The 1915 Marsica earthquake destroyed Avezzano. Checking a building's seismic class is essential.

Fires, landslides, water

Summer forest fires affect the Maiella, the Morrone and Pescara's D'Annunzio pine forest (2021); landslides and debris flows hit the Apennine slopes after heavy rain; coastal erosion is widespread north of Pescara. The Gran Sasso aquifers supply L'Aquila and part of the Teramo area and are generally plentiful, but the Fucino and Chieti areas suffered drought in the summers of 2022–2024. Air quality is good almost everywhere, with PM10 exceedances limited to the Pescara–Chieti urban area in winter.