Athens has always been warm in the summer, but never at today’s levels, it is emphasized in a CNN report. It is the warmest capital in mainland Europe, and set a record in 2024, a situation that becomes the new normal. The Mediterranean as a whole is heated faster than the global average, CNN stresses.

Responsible officials say Athens is projected to welcome 10 million visitors this year, and it is added that those who arrive in July and August will face even more extreme temperatures, according to the country’s meteorological service.

The situation has raised existential questions about Greece and its relationship with visitors whose consumer power has helped the country come out of the financial crisis, the CNN says. Increased tourism means increased pressure on the few water resources and infrastructure. It also means inflation. However, in fear, there is certainly hope – and awareness that the country must be adapted or encountered destructive consequences, the report is noted.

For the Mayor of Athens Harry Doukas, “building resilience is a matter of survival”. The management of these high temperatures along with the growth of tourists in the summer has become a priority.

In the short term, this means early warning systems for heatwave and real -time temperature monitoring, combined with fountains, air -conditioned cooling centers and shady “pocket parks”. Emergency services have been ready to help visitors facing discomfort, CNN said.

“Tourists often underestimate the heat, especially those of colder climates,” says Iris Plaitakis, a guide who regularly visits the Acropolis. “They don’t think about wearing hats or bringing enough water. You are much more exposed to the sun and warm up there due to the highest altitude and the lack of trees and shadow. “

Excessive heat is incredibly dangerous. “The heatwaves are responsible for more than 80% of the deaths caused by weather and climate phenomena in Europe,” says Ine Vandecastele, a specialist in the urban adjustment of the European Environment Agency.

In the long run, Athens faces the challenge of reforming a city with heat and limited green spaces – it is one of the least green cities in Europe and the second most densely populated after Paris. Greece, and in particular Athens, hosts one of the largest age populations in Europe, a population endangered by excessive heat, CNN stresses.

In 2021, the city became the first in Europe to appoint a “Chief Heat Officer” to promote and coordinate strategies of adaptation and durability as it began to focus on nature -based solutions to reduce the thermal island.

“In about a year we planted 7,000 trees, which is difficult in such a dense city. We want this number to reach 28,000 in four years. We also create green corridors, “says Duke, mayor of Athens. “Athens re -examines urban infrastructure, redesigned roads and chooses heat -absorbing materials.”

Resistance building initiatives include the creation of detailed heat maps that allow targeted interventions. Among them is the creation of a microdasus, the first in Greece, in Kypseli, Europe’s most densely populated neighborhood.

“The goal is to reduce perceived temperatures by 5 degrees Celsius within five years, creating targeted microclimate”says the Duke.

In the lush suburb of Chalandri, the reform of a Roman aqueduct of the second century and the irrigation of green spaces has drawn attention. “The aqueduct carries water that would otherwise go lost,” says project director Christos Jovanopoulos. “When the new pipelines are launched this summer, we will save 80,000-100,000 cubic meters a year.”

Time to break a little concrete

Graffiti is heavily built and covered, modern Athens looks a little like the idyllic location that people chose to settle millennia ago. Then he offered proximity to both the mountains and the sea, a mild climate, lush and plenty of resources and flowing rivers – the same rivers that became concrete during rapid urbanization in the 1950s and 1960s to build motorways, writes CNN

And part of this concrete should now leave, says Juanjo Galan, Associate Professor of Urban Planning at the Valencia Technical University, Spain, who saw his city pass into a “green revolution” and even distinguished as a green capital of Europe.

“In Spain, we say that you can’t make omelette without breaking some eggs,” says Galan. “Like Valencia, Athens will have to break some concrete, invest in green infrastructure and heat absorption materials. It will take some time, but it can be done. “

A major project already underway is the reconnection of Athens with the sea that defines so much of life in the rest of Greece, according to the CNN report.

With the enchanting “Ancient Miracles” and the picturesque streams of jasmine aroma in its historic center, it is easy for visitors to forget that Athens is really close to the Greek coast and to many beautiful creeks and beaches, CNN notes.

Escape to the Riviera

The Athenians always knew this, as they often went out of the city to cool off. And now their city is following this example by renewing an area recently named The Athens Riviera. It is also the point where the largest transformation is made compared to the country’s urban green in Elliniko. The private growth of 600 acres will include Greece’s first skyscraper – the Riviera 50 -storey Pyrgos, which will house luxury apartments overlooking the sea. At the heart of the project is the Elliniko Metropolitan Park. It is projected to become the largest green area in Athens and one of the largest coastal parks in the world and is expected to attract one million tourists a year, the CNN report said.

The role of tourists in the future of Athens is a controversial issue, characteristically notes. On the one hand, they are regarded as a source of life. On the other hand, the Athenians are concerned about the impact of tourism on a city that faces excessive heat, stresses CNN and adds:

Price prices along the coast have been soared, with many remarkable properties in Athens now in the hands of major international investors and others turning into boutique hotels and global luxury chains. These same hotels install air conditioning and swimming pools to keep their visitors cool in a city with already extensive power and water benefits.

Fires and fears

Many Athenians are anxious about the coming summer, with official reports of water level falling regularly in the news, CNN notes. The situation is exacerbated by extensive fires that have destroyed 40% of the forest areas around the city in less than a decade – flames were triggered by similar wind conditions observed in recent fires in Los Angeles and, as in Los Angeles, worsened by Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, with tourism still being a major economic lever, Greece must continue to use the industry “trying not to burn”, the report emphasizes and adds: “And despite the challenges facing Athens and the rest of the country, tourists are expected to continue. A record of 36 million tourists went in 2024, over the three times the population of the country. Analysts say the number is expected to reach 40 million by 2030. “

“People come from all over the world to understand and experience the cradle of Western culture, to see where Aristotle and Plato walked, where the first modern Olympic Games became,” says guide Plaitis. “This cannot be created again. And it will always bring people to Athens. “