The “explosive cocktail” of temperatures much higher than the seasonal average and the Sahara dust have reportedly set Greek authorities on alert. According to currently available forecast temperatures are expected to reach up to 40-41 degrees Celsius on the island of Crete. (See MAPS below!)
It will be the second big wave of Sahara Dust to hit Greece since April 23, 2024, that covered large parts of the country like in a horror film.
The presence of low pressures in the Western Mediterranean Sea combined with higher atmospheric pressure values over the region will lead to the transfer of hot air masses from Africa to Greece, the meteo service of the National Observatory of Athens reported on Wednesday, May 15, 2024.
Already on the morning of Wednesday, May 15, higher temperature values have been observed since Tuesday, May 14, from the network of meteorological stations of the National Observatory of Athens/meteo.gr in Western Greece, and a further rise in temperature is forecast throughout the country in the following days.
At the same time, the transport of dust from Africa is predicted to significantly affect the country mainly from Thursday, May 16, with a large concentration near the ground. Mud showers are expected in the continental areas.
The following video shows the evolution of the temperature at a height of approximately 1500 m above the average sea level, a level where the movement of air masses are being studied as well as the concentration of Sahara dust low in the atmosphere as predicted by the numerical forecast models of the National Observatory of Athens/meteo .gr until Monday, May 20, 2024.
Indicative Temperatures – Forecast May 17-20, 2024
Source: meteo.gr
