Long-Term Statistical Analysis of Severe Weather and Climate Events in Greece
The Mediterranean faces frequent heavy precipitation, deadly heatwaves, and wildfires fueled by its climate. Greece, with its complex topography, experiences severe and extreme weather events that have escalated in recent years and are projected to continue rising under future climate conditions. Th...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Atmosphere |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/16/1/105 |
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| author | Vassiliki Kotroni Antonis Bezes Stavros Dafis Dimitra Founda Elisavet Galanaki Christos Giannaros Theodore Giannaros Athanasios Karagiannidis Ioannis Koletsis George Kyros Konstantinos Lagouvardos Katerina Papagiannaki Georgios Papavasileiou |
| author_facet | Vassiliki Kotroni Antonis Bezes Stavros Dafis Dimitra Founda Elisavet Galanaki Christos Giannaros Theodore Giannaros Athanasios Karagiannidis Ioannis Koletsis George Kyros Konstantinos Lagouvardos Katerina Papagiannaki Georgios Papavasileiou |
| author_sort | Vassiliki Kotroni |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Mediterranean faces frequent heavy precipitation, deadly heatwaves, and wildfires fueled by its climate. Greece, with its complex topography, experiences severe and extreme weather events that have escalated in recent years and are projected to continue rising under future climate conditions. This paper analyzes severe weather events and trends in Greece from 2010 to 2023, leveraging data from an expanded network of weather stations spanning across Greece, as well as long-term meteorological data from the reference weather station in the center of Athens. The focus includes analysis of heat waves, intense rainfall and droughts, thunderstorms, hail, tornadoes, and fire weather conditions. The societal impact of severe weather events is also discussed. The paper aims to provide both long-term (1901–2023) and recent year analyses (2010–2023). The main results show that between 2010 and 2023, Greece experienced: nearly one heatwave per summer; heavy rainfall events, most common in winter and autumn, showing a significant increase, particularly in the eastern Aegean and western continental Greece; dry spells, which are longest in southern Greece; thunderstorm and hail events peaking in spring and summer; fire weather conditions and risk peaking in southern Greece. Finally, societal impacts from weather hazards have increased in Greece over the past 14 years, with flash floods being the most frequent and damaging events, while public preparedness and effective risk communication remain low. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2ed93b7e01c9441794781afc11c39b99 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2073-4433 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Atmosphere |
| spelling | doaj-art-2ed93b7e01c9441794781afc11c39b992025-01-24T13:22:02ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332025-01-0116110510.3390/atmos16010105Long-Term Statistical Analysis of Severe Weather and Climate Events in GreeceVassiliki Kotroni0Antonis Bezes1Stavros Dafis2Dimitra Founda3Elisavet Galanaki4Christos Giannaros5Theodore Giannaros6Athanasios Karagiannidis7Ioannis Koletsis8George Kyros9Konstantinos Lagouvardos10Katerina Papagiannaki11Georgios Papavasileiou12National Observatory of Athens, Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, Penteli, 15236 Athens, GreeceNational Observatory of Athens, Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, Penteli, 15236 Athens, GreeceNational Observatory of Athens, Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, Penteli, 15236 Athens, GreeceNational Observatory of Athens, Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, Penteli, 15236 Athens, GreeceNational Observatory of Athens, Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, Penteli, 15236 Athens, GreeceNational Observatory of Athens, Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, Penteli, 15236 Athens, GreeceNational Observatory of Athens, Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, Penteli, 15236 Athens, GreeceNational Observatory of Athens, Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, Penteli, 15236 Athens, GreeceNational Observatory of Athens, Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, Penteli, 15236 Athens, GreeceNational Observatory of Athens, Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, Penteli, 15236 Athens, GreeceNational Observatory of Athens, Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, Penteli, 15236 Athens, GreeceNational Observatory of Athens, Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, Penteli, 15236 Athens, GreeceNational Observatory of Athens, Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, Penteli, 15236 Athens, GreeceThe Mediterranean faces frequent heavy precipitation, deadly heatwaves, and wildfires fueled by its climate. Greece, with its complex topography, experiences severe and extreme weather events that have escalated in recent years and are projected to continue rising under future climate conditions. This paper analyzes severe weather events and trends in Greece from 2010 to 2023, leveraging data from an expanded network of weather stations spanning across Greece, as well as long-term meteorological data from the reference weather station in the center of Athens. The focus includes analysis of heat waves, intense rainfall and droughts, thunderstorms, hail, tornadoes, and fire weather conditions. The societal impact of severe weather events is also discussed. The paper aims to provide both long-term (1901–2023) and recent year analyses (2010–2023). The main results show that between 2010 and 2023, Greece experienced: nearly one heatwave per summer; heavy rainfall events, most common in winter and autumn, showing a significant increase, particularly in the eastern Aegean and western continental Greece; dry spells, which are longest in southern Greece; thunderstorm and hail events peaking in spring and summer; fire weather conditions and risk peaking in southern Greece. Finally, societal impacts from weather hazards have increased in Greece over the past 14 years, with flash floods being the most frequent and damaging events, while public preparedness and effective risk communication remain low.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/16/1/105severe weather events in Greeceheat wavesintense rainfalldroughtsfire weather |
| spellingShingle | Vassiliki Kotroni Antonis Bezes Stavros Dafis Dimitra Founda Elisavet Galanaki Christos Giannaros Theodore Giannaros Athanasios Karagiannidis Ioannis Koletsis George Kyros Konstantinos Lagouvardos Katerina Papagiannaki Georgios Papavasileiou Long-Term Statistical Analysis of Severe Weather and Climate Events in Greece Atmosphere severe weather events in Greece heat waves intense rainfall droughts fire weather |
| title | Long-Term Statistical Analysis of Severe Weather and Climate Events in Greece |
| title_full | Long-Term Statistical Analysis of Severe Weather and Climate Events in Greece |
| title_fullStr | Long-Term Statistical Analysis of Severe Weather and Climate Events in Greece |
| title_full_unstemmed | Long-Term Statistical Analysis of Severe Weather and Climate Events in Greece |
| title_short | Long-Term Statistical Analysis of Severe Weather and Climate Events in Greece |
| title_sort | long term statistical analysis of severe weather and climate events in greece |
| topic | severe weather events in Greece heat waves intense rainfall droughts fire weather |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/16/1/105 |
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