The current heatwave in Greece is “probably” the longest on record, an official at the National Meteorological Observatory said today.
“Based on our data, we are likely to experience a heat wave lasting 16 to 17 days, which has never happened before in our country,” Kostas Lagouvardos, research director at the National Meteorological Observatory, told ERT television, quoted by Agence France-Press.
In Greece, in recent days, many residents have been evacuated from the coastal areas affected by the heat wave, with temperatures reaching 44 degrees.
Some 1,200 children had to leave their holiday camps on Monday due to the threat of fire and strong winds near Loutraki, some 80 kilometers west of Athens.
According to the national meteorological service EMY, at noon this Friday temperatures of 41°C had been registered in Attica, in the Athens region, and up to 44°C in Thessaly, in the center of the country.
On the island of Euboea, a 46-year-old man died this Friday after being admitted to the hospital with a “body temperature of 40 degrees”, and after a cardiorespiratory arrest due to “exposure to very high temperatures”, says a statement from the Chalkida hospital.
Sunday is expected to be the worst day on record, with temperatures nearing 44°C in Athens and 45°C in Thessaly.
“This weekend will probably be the hottest July on record in the last 50 years,” said meteorologist Panagiotis Giannopoulos with the public television channel ERT.
On Sunday and Monday, the northerly winds, which can reach 60 km/h, are equally likely to favor fires, the expert warned.
All the country’s archaeological sites, including the Acropolis of Athens, will remain closed during the hottest part of the day until Sunday, the Culture Ministry said.
The Ministry of Labor, for its part, called on employers to promote teleworking, while the Ministry of Health issued recommendations to avoid all unnecessary trips in the middle of the day.
In the Greek capital, the absolute temperature record of 44.8°C was registered in June 2007, according to the Athens National Observatory, while the absolute record in Greece was reached in July 1977, with 48°C, in Elefsina, near Athens.
Source: TSF
