Greece prepares for a record heatwave

Greece, which escaped the record-breaking heatwaves that struck most European countries in June, is bracing for its first heatwave of the year.

Meteorologist Theodoros Kollias said on Facebook, as reported by the Agence France-Presse (AFP), that maximum temperatures in Thessaly, parts of the Peloponnese peninsula, and the greater Athens area would reach “around 40 degrees Celsius,” with a possibility of a decline later today.

Kollias added that data from Monday to next Wednesday showed that “we are not dealing with a simple warm spell, but with hot weather that has the characteristics of a heatwave itself, particularly over the mainland.”

The meteo.gr weather website reported yesterday that the first reading exceeding 40 degrees Celsius this season was recorded in the town of Konitsa in the northwest, where temperatures reached 40.4 degrees. The Hellenic National Meteorological Service (EMY) forecast temperatures ranging between 40 and 41 degrees Celsius on Monday and Tuesday across mainland Greece.

It is unusual for temperatures to rise in Greece in late July, but rainfall this month and strong winds helped keep heatwaves at bay this season, even as heat records were broken across most of Europe.

According to meteo.gr, this is the third latest occurrence of 40-degree temperatures since 2011, following July 20, 2015, and July 30, 2013.