The climate in 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.

Temperature records of the last 73 years

The hottest temperature measured from 1949 to September 2022 was reported by the Larissa Airport 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 73 years was reported by the Larissa Airport weather station. Here the temperature dropped to -10.0 °C in January 2022. Larissa Airport 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 2.2 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 73 years. Incidentally, the region with the most rainfall for the whole year is around Kerkyra Airport. The driest region is near Athen Ellinikon.

Long-term development of temperatures from 1978 - 2021

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 2021, there were only these 2 weather stations in the whole country, which reported continuous temperature values (Kerkyraort, Herakleionort). 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 2021. So in less than 44 years, it has increased by about 1.6 °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.

Data basis and methodology

The data from the individual measuring stations are based on the archives of the German Weather Service, individual values averaged and supplemented by own elements. In order to determine a representative national average, average values were first calculated for each part of the country, which were then summarized at the national level. Thus, if a disproportionate number of weather stations are located in a small area, their number does not affect the national average. There are 14 stations in Greece itself. In 9 cases, neighboring but nearby weather stations were also used to obtain more accurate values.