Greek holidays in March. What is happening with the weather?

We have already become accustomed to the summer heat on the Peloponnese Peninsula. However, this year, high air temperatures surprised meteorologists as early as March. Will the season for Greek holidays start in early spring? What could be the consequences of climate instability in southern Europe?

New heat records in Greece broken

Last weekend, central and southern Greece experienced an exceptional temperature rise. On Friday, thermometers in many regions of the country showed over 25°C, and according to the National Observatory in Athens, as many as 82 meteorological stations recorded significant seasonal anomalies. The average temperature for mid-March was exceeded by 7.4°C.

On Sunday in Lasithi, Crete, thermometers recorded 33.7°C, while in Livadia, in the central part of the country, 31.4°C was measured the day before. It can therefore be said that the Greek holiday season has been fully inaugurated. Meteorologists from Meteo.gr link this weather phenomenon to the influx of Sahara dust, which over the weekend covered Athens and the eastern part of the Peloponnese in a dense haze. In an interview with ERT television, Panagiotis Giannopoulos of the Hellenic Meteorological Society admitted that there had never been such high temperatures in the first half of March before.

Due to the temperature rise, 70 fires were recorded in Greece on March 11, primarily affecting crop residues in agricultural fields. In response to the situation, authorities have imposed a total ban on lighting fires in rural areas until further notice.

Meteorological swings dangerous for nature

However, the March Greek holidays will not last long. The Hellenic National Meteorological Service has announced the arrival of a cold front tomorrow. Temperatures will drop to 2°C, accompanied by intermittent rain and snow. The wind over the Aegean Sea will locally reach up to 8 on the Beaufort scale. Morning frosts are expected by the end of the week.

Cold northern winds will help clear Sahara dust clouds from the Peloponnese, but the drastic weather change could cause significant damage to crops. In northern Macedonia, fruit trees have already begun vegetating, and their blooming has been accelerated by the weekend’s warming. A sudden drop in temperature and frost may damage buds, exposing orchard owners to severe losses.

When to go on a Greek holiday?

Greece is gradually becoming one of Europe’s climate change hotspots. The year 2024 was the hottest and driest in the country’s history. After an exceptionally warm winter, during which average temperatures remained at 11.8°C, a scorching summer followed – in June, Crete recorded temperatures as high as 44.5°C.

Meanwhile, in 2023, according to analysts from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, Greece ranked first among European countries in terms of the highest mortality due to heatwaves. With a death toll (including fatalities related to wildfires) of 393 per million inhabitants, it surpassed Bulgaria, Italy, and Spain. In June 2024, after nine people died from high temperatures, the Acropolis and other tourist attractions were closed to protect visitors from the intense heat.

Most travel guides agree that the best time to visit Greece is in May or October. However, in the face of climate change and its accompanying extremes, even these periods may soon bring unpleasant surprises. This unpredictability certainly does not benefit Greece’s recovering economy. Especially since the country is struggling with a severe water crisis, with drinking water losses reaching up to 50% due to poor infrastructure conditions.

main photo: Matthew Waring / Unsplash