Climate change has led to an average temperature increase of 1.5°C over the last 30 years in Greece with northern parts of the country affected more, found a study released this week by the National Observatory of Athens’ METEO unit.
The study, ANA-MPA reports, examined climate trends in the country from 1991 to 2020 based on Copernicus data. On average, the temperature across Greece increased by about 0.05°C per year and by 0.07°C on average per year in northern parts of the country sending temperatures up by 2°C over the 30-year period under review.
Additionally, according to the findings published in the “Atmosphere” journal, the number of frost days have dropped, especially in northwestern Greece, while sea surface temperatures have risen by 1.5°C, with the largest increases recorded in the northern Aegean, Ionian, and around Crete.
In terms of annual rainfall, the number of days with heavy rainfall has increased up to nine or 10 which combined with the devastation of woodland by fires has led to frequent flooding.
According to Kostas Lagouvardos, lead author of the study and director of the Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development of the National Observatory of Athens, the Balkan region, including Greece, and southeastern Europe have now become a climate change “hotspot”.
Meanwhile, in similar news, according to a study released by Norway’s CICERO Center for International Climate Research, extreme weather incidents are expected to intensify over the next 20 years with 70% of the world’s population set to experience a rapid increase in ‘unprecedented’ weather.
