A meteorologist announced on the official channel in Greece that this weekend will be the hottest in the past 50 years during the month of July.
Greece is witnessing a heat wave that is expected to continue next week.
On Friday afternoon, the National Meteorological Service recorded a temperature of 41 degrees Celsius in Attica in the Athens region, and 44 degrees Celsius in Thessaly in the center of the country.
On Sunday, the temperature is expected to rise to 44 degrees Celsius in Athens and 45 degrees Celsius in Thessaly.
“This weekend is likely to record the highest July temperatures in the past 50 years,” said Panayotis Yiannopoulos, a meteorologist for the public television channel ERT.
He said: “Temperatures in Athens will reach more than 40 degrees Celsius for 6 to 7 days until the end of July, which is an exceptionally long period even for a European capital accustomed to the summer heat.”
The meteorologist of the private TV channel “Mega”, Yannis Kalianos, described the current heat wave as “long and strong”.
He added, “According to the latest forecasts, the heat wave may continue until next Thursday and Friday, July 27 and 28.”
The expert expected that northerly winds of up to 60 kilometers per hour would lead to the outbreak of fires on Sunday and Monday.
In the face of the scorching heat wave, all archaeological sites in Greece, including the Acropolis in Athens, will remain closed during peak heat hours until Sunday, according to the Ministry of Culture.
The Ministry of Labor called on companies to promote telework, while the Ministry of Health recommended avoiding unnecessary travel during the day.
For his part, the Minister of Civil Protection, Vassilis Kikilias, said via “ERT”, saying: “We have three difficult days ahead of us. We must be vigilant.”
It is worth noting that the capital, Athens, recorded a record temperature of 44.8 degrees Celsius in June 2007, while Greece recorded the absolute record in July 1977 when the temperature reached 48 degrees Celsius in Elefsina.
