Greece has recorded the warmest June in over 60 years. The average temperature in the country has increased by 2.5 degrees since the 1960s, according to Kostas Lagouvardos, research chief at the Athens National Observatory.
The month of June 2024 was characterized by long periods of elevated temperatures over several days, which largely exceeded normal seasonal temperatures throughout the country, he says to the AFP news agency.
Temperatures in Greece usually do not exceed 30-31 degrees in June, but this year a heatwave in the middle of the month pushed temperatures above 40 degrees.
Over 1,200 fires have been reported in June, compared to 533 during the same period last year, according to the Greek government's spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis.
Strong winds and drought have caused large fires in recent times in several parts of the country, including outside the capital Athens.
At the same time, several forest fires are raging on the border with Greece in southern Albania. Several of the fires are under control, but high temperatures and winds have made it favorable for the fires to spread near the Albanian villages of Dropull and Finiq, according to the Albanian Defense Ministry.
According to researchers, climate change makes extreme weather events such as heatwaves more likely, longer-lasting, and more intense.
