OR average temperature in Greece has increased by about 1.5 °C in the last 30 years and this increase is greater mainly in northern Greece, in areas far from the sea.

The above results from a study of the trends of basic climate parameters in Greece in the period 1991-202, which was carried out by scientists of the METEO unit of the National Observatory of Athens. The study, published in the international journal “Atmosphere”, looked at changing trends in temperature, precipitation and sea temperature, with data from the European Copernicus service.

On average for the whole of the Greek territory the increasing trend is about 0.05 °C per year and 1.5 °C for the whole 30 years. However, this increase shows geographical variations. In many areas, mainly in northern Greece, which are remote from the sea, the increasing trend reaches about 0.07 °C per year and this, according to scientists, means that the average temperature in these areas has increased by more than 2 °C within the last 30 years. On the contrary, in areas of southern Greece and especially in Crete, the trend of increase is much smaller.

Speaking to APE-MBE, the lead author of the study, research director of the Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development of the National Observatory of Athens, dr. Kostas Lagouvardos, characterizes the research findings on the rate of temperature increase in northern Greece as “a small surprise”. “Of course, we had suspected it from measurements we made in recent years with our very dense network of stations and we were impressed that the data were much higher than normal for northern Greece”, he explains and hastens to clarify: “It is not more warm northern Greece than southern Greece. But it has a faster rate of temperature increase in this 30-year period.”

In the same time period 1991-2020, the average temperature has increased less on the planet, but also in Europe: by about 0.6-0.8 °C worldwide, while in Europe by 1.2 °C.

“All of Europe is warming, but at a different rate. The region of the Balkans and south-eastern Europe are warming more”, observes Mr. Lagouvardos. As he adds, the research data “shows that our country, together with other countries in the Balkans and South-Eastern Europe, is a hotspot of climate change”.

The research also found a fairly significant reduction in the number of frost days across the country, with a greater reduction in frost days in northwestern mainland Greece, but also an increase in sea surface temperature of 1.5 °C, with a maximum increase trend in the northern Aegean, the Ionian and around Crete. Regarding the annual amount of rain, a stabilization of rainfall during the last 30 years was identified, as well as a stabilization of drought periods. However, there was an increase in the number of days with heavy precipitation, estimated at 9-10 days over the 30-year period, and as the study authors note, “the increasing trend is associated with more frequent flood events.” However, in limited areas there was a tendency to decrease rainfall and days with heavy rainfall, mainly in central Thessaly, the eastern Peloponnese and in areas of Crete.

The study period may cover the 30 years until 2020, but it appears that the high temperatures and the greatest rate of temperature increase in northern Greece continue to this day. “On a first reading of the data for the last four years, this pattern continues. The temperature has risen even more and again the regions of northern Greece have significant deviations from their normal values ​​in relation to southern Greece”, observes Mr. Lagouvardos to APE-MPE.