In April the heat is expected to reach +30°C

Temperature records recorded in the first quarter of 2024 in Greece are being broken one after another.

The winter of 2023-2024 was Greece's warmest on record, according to preliminary data from the Climate Change Service (C3S) of the European Copernicus program, analyzed by the scientific team meteo.gr/EAA

In December 2023, January and February 2024 temperatures were quite high for the season. In fact, as meteo.gr/EAA points out, the winter of 2023-2024 is considered the warmest on record in Greece, surpassing the warm winter of 2015-2016.

Second warmest January since 2010
According to the meteo.gr network of 53 meteorological stations of the National Observatory of Athens (EAA), January this year was characterized by many days with positive temperature deviations, and for Northern Greece and Thessaly it was the second warmest January since the beginning of the year 2010. In the region Western Macedonia recorded temperatures 3.0°C above normal for the season.

A similar picture was observed in February, as, according to meteo.gr/EAA, it was the warmest February in the last 15 years in Northern Greece. As IEPVA/EAA Research Director Dr. Costas Lagouvardos noted, February this year was a month with sharp temperature fluctuations. It is noteworthy that values ​​up to 4.0°C above normal for the season were recorded in Macedonia and Thessaly.

By the end of March, the pattern of temperature increases to normal levels for the season does not change. As Mr. Lagouvardos explained, according to preliminary estimates for the third month of the year and based on data until March 28, 2024, relative deviations of 1.5-2 degrees above normal levels are observed. The exception is Epirus, which, according to the data available so far, records deviations of the order of one degree.

New increase in temperature since the beginning of the week
At the same time, as Mr. Lagouvardos APE-MPE emphasizes, the first 10 days of April, starting next week, are expected to be hot. In particular, according to the latest forecast data from meteo.gr/National Observatory of Athens, atmospheric circulation over Europe in the coming days will contribute to the transfer of extremely warm gas masses from Africa to Eastern Europe in the coming days.

This situation will lead to the air temperature will be 15-16 degrees higher than normal for the season. It is possible that the temperature at the beginning of the week will approach or even exceed +30°С in some parts of the mainland, reports meteo.gr. It is worth noting that the amount of precipitation in the country is also decreasing, which leads to increased droughts.

Record global average sea surface temperature

According to experts, sea surface temperatures are rising around the world. As Drosos Koutsubas, professor of marine biology at the University of the Aegean, chairman of the department of oceanography and marine life sciences, and member of the MedPAN scientific committee, noted, Over the past 30 years, the temperature of the Mediterranean Sea has increased by about 1.5 degrees, which has led to the “tropicalization” of the Mediterranean. A manifestation of this phenomenon is the settlement of a large number of alien, non-native species (biological invaders) in the Mediterranean, creating problems for populations of native species of the marine biosphere and their habitats.

According to Mr Koutsoumbos, the biggest risks facing seas as a result of climate change are increase in water temperature, leading to the penetration of alien species, sea ​​acidificationthat is, a decrease in the pH of seawater and an increase in acidity, Marine heat waves and sea level riseleading to erosion.

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