Extreme summer
temperatures in Greece
Heat waves
Panagiotis Giannopoulos
Helllenic National Meteorological Service
The definition criterion
for a Heat Wave in Greece is:
at least
3 consecutive days with
max
air temperature >= 36.5oC
„
SUMMER 2007
3 strong and long duration
heat waves
I) 19-28 June
•
•
•
Eastern mainland and
Aegean islands
Max. temp for Athens
46.2oC
(110 year record)
Record for energy demand
II)18-25 July
•
North Greece (record Thessaloniki 44.0oC )
•
Athens 45.0oC (the old record)
•
New record for energy demand
18 people died from heatstroke
due to I-II heat waves
III)21-26 August
•
•
•
West Greece
big forest fires
70 deaths
Data
Daily
Max temperatures
from 19 stations
data 1975-2004
„
•
(especially for
Athens,
1955-2007)
ƒ
In all stations is observed an increase over time
of the number of days
with temperature ≥ 36,5oC
ƒ
This increase is smaller to the cities that are
directly influenced from the sea
ƒ
In many stations is observed
an increase over time
of the number of days
with temperature ≥ 39,5oC
„
a higher frequency of heat waves is recorded
over Ionian sea and across Mainland
Athens
Number of days with T>36.5 increase
Number of days with Τ>=36,5 οC
35
30
25
#
20
14,42
15
10
5
y = 0,2x - 424
6,23
y = 0,08x - 147
y = -0,13x + 272
0
1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
year
Number of days T >39.5 increase
o
Number of days with T>=39,5 C
12
10
y = 0,05x - 97
8
#
„Number of days T >39.5
6
y = -0,03x + 69
4
2
increase
y = 0,06x - 122
2,64
0,64
0
1950
1960
1970
1980
year
1990
2000
2010
Number of heat waves incidents
increase
Heat wave episodes per year
5
4
y = 0,03x - 67
3
#
2
1
0
1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
year
This increase cannot attributed only to “heat
island”
(for Athens the comparison between two stations
an urban and a rural -semiurban showed no
significant difference)
„
Sources
„
ZIAKOPOULOS et all, 2008
“HEAT WAVES IN HELLAS DURING THE SUMMER
PERIOD AND HIGH TEMPERATURES RISK SCALING”
(9TH COMECAP2008)
„
PETROU 2007
HEAT WAVES IN HELLAS-SUMMER 2007
(WGCEF: 13rd Annual Meeting)
Thank you