News - Greece records hottest winter on record - a prelude to summer fires

According to data analysed by Greek scientists, this winter has been the hottest in Greek history, threatening the viability of crops and raising fears of another summer of devastating wildfires, Reuters reported. From December to February, the average peak temperature was 11.3 degrees Celsius, 1.8 degrees above the average maximum winter temperatures between 1960 and 2024. In parts of northern Greece, temperatures rose by 7-8 degrees Celsius, according to the National Observatory of Athens, which analysed data from the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service. It was the warmest winter since observations began in 1936 and is in line with the trend, with six of the warmest winters recorded in Greece in the past 10 years. "Most days temperatures were above normal, with only small intervals of cold weather," Konstantinos Lagouvardos, scientific director of the national observatory, told the agency. "This is a new reality and we have to take it seriously. Climate change is definitely happening," he added. The data is causing concern in Greece, which is one of the hardest hit countries in Europe by climate change, where wildfires killed at least 20 people last summer. In autumn, heavy record rains caused flooding and destroyed homes, pastures and crops. According to Copernicus, last year was the hottest on the planet in recorded history and probably in the last 100,000 years. Scientists say Greece's warm winter, together with low rainfall and low humidity, could mean more wildfires in the summer.