The average temperature in Greece has increased by about 1.5C in the last 30 years and this increase is greater mainly in northern Greece, in areas far from the sea.
These were the findings of a study on the trends in basic climate parameters in Greece between 1991-2020, which was carried out by scientists at the METEO unit of the National Observatory of Athens. The study, published in the international journal "Atmosphere", looked at changes in temperature, precipitation and sea temperature, with data from the European Copernicus service.
On average, for all of Greek territory as a whole, the trend shows a rise of about 0.05C per year and 1.5C over the 30-year period. However, there are geographical differences in rates of increase. In many areas - mainly those in northern Greece, which are far from the sea - temperatures have risen by about 0.07C per year and this, according to scientists, means that the average temperature in these areas has increased by more than 2C over the last 30 years. On the contrary, in areas of southern Greece and especially in Crete, the increase is much smaller.
Speaking to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency, 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, said the research findings on the rate of temperature increase in northern Greece were "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 figures were much higher than normal for northern Greece," he explained, while clarifying that this did not mean that northern Greece was warmer than southern Greece, only that the rate of increase of temperature over the 30-year period had been faster.
During the same time period, the average temperature had risen by a lesser amount for both the planet and in Europe: by about 0.6-0.8C globally, and by 1.2C in Europe.
"All of Europe is warming, but at a different rate. The region of the Balkans and southeastern Europe are warming more," observed Lagouvardos. The research data "shows that our country, together with other countries in the Balkans and South-Eastern Europe, is a hotspot for climate change," he added.
The research also found a fairly significant reduction in the number of frost days throughout the country, with a greater reduction in frost days in northwest mainland Greece, but also an increase in sea surface temperature of 1.5C, with the maximum increase in the northern Aegean, the Ionian and around Crete. Regarding the annual amount of rain, a stabilisation of rainfall during the last 30 years was identified, as well as a stabilisation 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 flooding incidents."
However, in a few areas there was a trend for a decrease in rainfall and days of heavy rainfall, mainly in central Thessaly, the eastern Peloponnese and in areas of Crete. While the study period covers the 30 years until 2020, the high temperatures and the faster rate of temperature increase in northern Greece are still continuing. “ At first glance, the data for the last four years shows that this pattern is continuing. 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," observed Lagouvardos.
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