This year’s April saw the average of daily maximum temperatures, almost throughout Greece, according to the network of 53 meteorological stations operated continuously by the National Observatory of Athens’ meteo division since 2010.
This April was characterized by many days with positive temperature anomalies and was the warmest April since 2010 in Thessaly, the Peloponnese, and the Aegean Islands (excluding Crete). The largest positive temperature anomalies were recorded in Thessaly and northern Greece, with monthly average values up to 3.0 °C above normal for the season. In western Greece, the Ionian Islands, and the Aegean islands, including Crete, smaller anomalies were recorded, ranging from +2.0 to +2.4 °C.
In northern Greece, we had the 10th consecutive month (since July 2023) with positive anomalies (and notably in the 5 months with very large anomalies of over +2°C). In Crete, the Peloponnese, and the Aegean Islands – Dodecanese, we also had the 10th consecutive month (since July 2023) with positive anomalies (with slightly smaller values than those in northern Greece).
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The next graph presents the ranking of April by year, according to the average monthly maximum temperature. For Crete, it was the 2nd warmest April after 2016, and for northern and western Greece, it was the 2nd warmest April after 2018. During the first 20 days of the month, very high positive temperature anomalies were recorded, ranging from 8-10 °C above normal for the season across the country, especially in northern Greece and Thessaly. The temperature remained high for the season, and only between April 20-26 were temperatures slightly lower than the average for the period 2010-2019 observed. Very large positive anomalies were recorded in Crete on April 22-23, reaching 10-12°C above normal for the season (36.6°C in Falassarna, Chania, on April 23, 2024).
In Athens, the average monthly maximum temperature anomaly was +2.9°C, with 23 out of 30 days of the month being warmer than normal for the season. In Thessaloniki, 22 days of the month were warmer than the average for the period 2010-2019, with the average maximum temperature of the month being +2.5°C above normal levels. In Agios Nikolaos, Lasithi, the most days with positive temperature anomalies were observed (29 days), followed by Lavrio with 27 days, and Tinos, Xanthi, and Trikala with 25 days.
The last graph displays the anomaly values for all 53 meteorological stations.
