The danger of extreme weather will remain very high on Wednesday (02/07/2025), as Greece faces soaring temperatures and stormy winds. The weather continues to be scorching, with temperatures expected to reach up to 37 degrees Celsius. Strong winds are also making a reappearance, reaching up to 8 Beaufort in the Cyclades, the eastern Aegean, and southern Evia, where gusts may exceed 70 km/h, posing an enormous fire risk.
Attica is also affected, especially its northern and eastern parts, with winds at 7 Beaufort, as well as the eastern Peloponnese and Crete, where wind gusts in mountainous areas could reach up to 90 km/h.
According to the National Fire Service, there is a very high fire risk (category 4) forecast for the following regions tomorrow:
– Attica Region (including Kythira Island)
– Central Greece Region (Evia Regional Unit)
– Peloponnese Region (Corinthia, Argolis, and Laconia regional units)
– North Aegean Region (Lesbos, Chios, Samos, and Ikaria regional units)
– Crete Region
According to the Hellenic National Meteorological Service (EMY) forecast, the weather will generally be sunny across the country for most of the day. However, local clouds are expected over central and eastern Macedonia during the morning, possibly bringing brief showers. During the midday and afternoon hours, clouds will develop over inland areas, with local showers in the mountains, and isolated thunderstorms possible in the northwestern mountainous regions.
Winds will be variable at 3 to 4 Beaufort in western regions, while northerly winds of 4 to 6 Beaufort are expected in eastern areas, reaching locally up to 7 Beaufort in the Aegean. Early in the evening, winds in the eastern Aegean could reach up to 8 Beaufort. Temperatures will see a slight drop mainly in eastern regions, reaching 31–33°C in northern inland areas, 34–35°C in some places, 33–35°C in the Ionian Sea, the rest of the mainland, islands of the eastern Aegean, Dodecanese, and southern Crete, and up to 36–37°C in central inland areas, with 30–33°C elsewhere in island regions.
The thermal dome phenomenon is causing record-breaking temperatures in Central Europe and the Balkans. This relatively new meteorological term refers to trapped hot air in a region, leading to prolonged, dangerous heatwaves — often historic ones, such as the current one affecting the Iberian Peninsula.
High-pressure systems push warmer air downward, intensifying its heat near the ground surface, creating conditions of sudden drought and drying out the atmosphere close to the ground, significantly increasing fire risk.
In Greece, June was largely climatically favorable, with temperatures close to seasonal norms. July doesn’t seem to bring anything extreme either, at least until the first half of the month, with temperatures hovering around 35–37°C in certain areas. A new heatwave is expected from Sunday through next week’s Wednesday–Thursday, with temperatures hitting the 40°C mark in some locations, though not considered unusually extreme for this time of year.