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The climate of Greece
The largest part of Greece has a Mediterranean climate with mild
winters and dry and warm summers. The higher parts in the interior may
have cold winters with wintry weather. Some parts of Greece even have
winter sports possibilities.
Climate information of places and areas in Greece
The climate information on this page is only brief. Specific
information about weather and climate can be found on the climate
pages per area or town. As for Greece the following climate
information is available:
Wintry weather
During the winter snowfall not only may occur on the mainland; even
the island of Crete occasionally gets snow. The capital of Athens even
is regularly being paralyzed by heavy snowfall during winter months.
However, the weather may change very rapidly; temperatures may rise 10
degrees Celsius within 24 hours so the snow will melt as fast as it
fell. Winters on the islands are usually mild with temperatures
between 5-15 degrees Celsius.
Precipitation
Most of the precipitation falls during the winter from November till
March. The north western part of the mainland and the south of Crete
get the largest amount of precipitation. During the summer Greece gets
little rain. Long periods of drought are no exception. Drought is a
problem Greece has to cope with; the risk of forest fires is high
during these periods.
Heat
Greece’s summers are warm and dry. Heat waves with temperatures
exceeding 40 degrees Celsius occur annually in Greece. Especially the
capital of Athens, the
Peleponessos, Crete and the islands which are
part of the Dodecanese complex including: Rhodes, Karpathos, Kos and
Samos) have a reasonable chance of long periods of heat from June till
August. This is the reason why many residents of Athens spend their
summers on one of the islands where the heat is being tempered by a
pleasant sea breeze. For most tourists the warm weather is the reason
to spend their holidays in Greece. Especially in July and August most
destinations have guaranteed sunshine with temperatures exceeding 25
or even 30 degrees Celsius.
Climate figures
The figures below are based on long term weather and climate
records in Athens. They cannot be seen as an average for Greece
because of the large differences in this country.
More climate information
Climate figures are very useful but don’t present a general impression
of the climate and the eventual weather circumstances within a certain
period. The figures don’t always reflect the chance of wintry weather,
extreme heat or hurricanes. That is why we monthly offer useful extra
climate information. The information below is valid for the city of
Athens. Please visit the pages on individual climate
information for other places in Greece.
Disclaimer
The information at this site was carefully composed from climate data collected by meteorological services, meteorological offices, climate experts and other sources. “More climate info” is based on statistics, climate data and personal experience. No rights can be derived from this site. Weather has no memory and gives no guaranties. Nothing is as changeable and unpredictable as the weather. The authors of this site feel in no way responsible for any damages caused by misinterpretation or other circumstances that may influence your holiday or trip to a certain destination. We provide information, it’s up to the reader to use it to it’s benefit.
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= 0-5 mm ●
= 6-30 mm ●
= 31-60 mm ●
= 61-100 mm ●
= 101-200 mm ●
=
over 200 mm
