Greece has entered the grip of a heatwave, with temperatures locally expected to exceed 40 degrees Celsius.

“Essentially, this is the first heatwave of the summer, and it will be a prolonged one,” Kostas Lagouvardos, Research Director at the National Observatory of Athens and head of the METEO/NOA unit, told the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (AMNA) on Saturday. He added that the areas expected to record the highest temperatures are Thessaly, Western Greece and Central Macedonia.

According to the latest data, the hottest days will be Saturday, and Sunday, while heatwave conditions will prevail in many areas until the middle of next week. Maximum temperatures are expected to reach 38-40C, while locally they could touch 41-42C.

Meanwhile, according to METEO/NOA, air masses over Greece will be 6 to 8 degrees warmer than normal for this time of year.

Lagouvardos stressed that this is not an extreme heatwave in terms of the intensity of the temperatures. However, the high temperatures are expected to persist for six to seven days, while the end of the heatwave will be reassessed at the beginning of next week based on the latest forecast data.

“From Monday onwards, the meltemia winds will also strengthen, which will help areas such as Attica, the Cyclades and northern Crete. Winds will reach up to force 5, locally reaching force 6 to 7 in the south and south-east,” Lagouvardos told AMNA.

He also noted that the risk of wildfires will be elevated, as the high temperatures will contribute to further drying out of the available fuel.

“Therefore, the fire-weather indices are deteriorating day by day, particularly as the winds will strengthen considerably from Monday onwards,” he said, adding that temperatures of this magnitude are unusual towards the end of August.

Source: Ekathimerini.com