The climate in Greece
Average daytime and nighttime temperaturesAll climate diagrams on this page come from the collected data of 23 weather stations.
Weather stations at an altitude above 890m have not been included.
All data correspond to the average monthly values of the last 20 years.
Back to overview: Greece
Climate zone: The northern part of Greece is located in the temperate climate zone, while the southern part is subtropical.
For 6 months, the average temperatures are over 25 degrees. Pleasant water temperatures of up to 25 degrees even invite you to bathe in the warm season. The warmest and at the same time rainiest region is South Aegean. The coldest is East Macedonia and Thrace. Due to the warmer temperatures, the best time for traveling is from June to August. Less attractive are the cold months from November to March.
For 6 months, the average temperatures are over 25 degrees. Pleasant water temperatures of up to 25 degrees even invite you to bathe in the warm season. The warmest and at the same time rainiest region is South Aegean. The coldest is East Macedonia and Thrace. Due to the warmer temperatures, the best time for traveling is from June to August. Less attractive are the cold months from November to March.
Hours of sunshine per day

Rain days per month

Precipitation in mm/day

Water temperature

Relative humidity in %

Absolute humidity in g/m³

Regions in Greece
All figures per year. For detailed climate data click on the name of the region.Region | Temperature max Ø day | Temperature min Ø night | Sunshine hours | Rainy days | Precipitation | Humidity |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Attica | 23.4 °C | 15.1 °C | 2,847 h | 43 | 394 l | 62.0 % |
Ionian Islands | 22.8 °C | 13.7 °C | 2,774 h | 76 | 945 l | 75.0 % |
Crete | 22.5 °C | 15.5 °C | 2,884 h | 58 | 588 l | 63.0 % |
Central Greece | 23.4 °C | 15.2 °C | 2,847 h | 43 | 394 l | 62.0 % |
North Aegean | 22.3 °C | 13.9 °C | 2,738 h | 60 | 836 l | 62.0 % |
East Macedonia and Thrace | 20.1 °C | 8.2 °C | 2,336 h | 73 | 683 l | 71.0 % |
Peloponnese | 23.0 °C | 12.6 °C | 2,884 h | 71 | 704 l | 68.0 % |
South Aegean | 23.4 °C | 13.5 °C | 2,592 h | 62 | 737 l | 63.0 % |
Thessaly | 22.2 °C | 9.8 °C | 2,446 h | 59 | 434 l | 67.0 % |
West Greece | 23.0 °C | 14.0 °C | 2,920 h | 68 | 792 l | |
West Macedonia | 21.2 °C | 8.8 °C | 2,446 h | 60 | 489 l | 68.0 % |
Central Macedonia | 21.5 °C | 10.6 °C | 2,519 h | 59 | 449 l | 66.0 % |
Temperature records of the last 74 years
The hottest temperature measured from 1949 to January 2023 was reported by the Larissa Airp weather station. In August 2021, the record temperature of 44.0 °C was reported here. The hottest summer from July to September, based on all 14 weather stations in Greece below 890 meters altitude, was recorded in 2012 with an average temperature of 27.9 °C. This average temperature will normally be measured every four to six hours, thus also including the nights. Normally, this value is 25.9 degrees Celsius. The average maximum daily temperature at that time was 32.5 °C.The coldest day in these 74 years was reported by the Larissa Airp weather station. Here the temperature dropped to -10.0 °C in January 2022. Larissa Airp lies at an altitude of 74 meters above sea level. The coldest winter (January to March) was in 1949 with an average temperature of 8.2 °C. In Greece, it is usual to have about 2.3 degrees more at 10.4 °C for this three-month period.
The most precipitation fell in December 1973. With 30.6 mm per day, the Zakynthos weather station recorded the highest monthly average of the last 74 years. Incidentally, the region with the most rainfall for the whole year is around Kerkyra Airp. The driest region is near Athen Ellinikon.
Long-term development of temperatures from 1978 - 2022
In contrast to single record values, long-term development cannot simply be brought about by all weather stations in the country. Both the number and the locations are constantly changing. An average value would give a distorted result. If several measuring stations in particularly cold mountain or coastal regions are added in one year, the average would decrease as a result of this alone. If a station fails during the summer or winter months, it does not provide any values and distorts the average again. The subsequent long-term development was therefore reduced to only 2 measuring points in order to have comparable data over as long a period as possible.In the years 1978 to 2022, there were only these 2 weather stations in the whole country, which reported continuous temperature values (Kerkyra, Herakleion). From these weather reports, we have created a long-term development that shows the monthly average temperatures. The hottest month in this entire period was July 2012 at 29.2 °C. December 1991 was the coldest month with an average temperature of 8.7 °C.
The average annual temperature was about 17.8 °C in the years after 1978 and about 19.4 °C in the last years before 2022. So in less than 45 years, it has increased by about 1.7 °C. This trend only applies to the selected 2 weather stations in Greece. A considerably more comprehensive evaluation of global warming has been provided separately.
