Weather & Climate in Greece

The climate of Greece is primarily Mediterranean. Nevertheless, because the country has a very distinct geography, Greece has a noteworthy range of local variations and micro-climates. The climate to the west part of the Pindus mountain range is normally wetter and has maritime features. On one hand, the east of the Pindus mountain range is typically drier and windier during summer.


The climate of Greece is categorized into the following divisions:
Dry Mediterranean – this type of climate generally occurs in the Aegean Islands. This occurs particularly in the Cyclades and the Dodecanese, the southern parts of central Evia, the southern and eastern part of Peloponnese, and the low areas of Attica and Crete. The weather during the summer is always sunny and dry. The occurrence of any precipitation takes in the form of shower or thunderstorms. The air of this climate is normally hot in daytime and pleasingly warm during the night. There are heatwaves that occur during summer in the coastal areas where Etesian winds blow, but these waves are considered mild and calm. The winters in this climate are wet since the snow that fall doesn’t last long, especially in slopes that face south. There is unrelenting fall of rain in the winter that causes the areas flood.

Continental Mediterranean – the areas that have this climate are the parts of Thessaly, Thrace and Macedonia which are interiors of Epirus and Central Greece. There is a noteworthy dissimilarity between temperatures during summer and winter. There is abundant snowfall in winters that makes them cold and harsh for the citizens. The summers are very hot and have frequent thunderstorms. There is no big difference in the event of precipitation between the summer and the winter even if most of the rain is likely to fall in the latter part of autumn. Frosts are common in the winter while it also is common in spring and autumn in some areas.

Alpine Mediterranean – this climate offers a winter that is harsh because of its having plenty of snowfalls. The summers are cool and have repeated thunderstorms. This climate is found in Pindus and Rhodope and other parts of Greece having high mountains. There are only a few meteorological stations that study the area of the Alpine Mediterranean climate in Greece.

The absolute minimum temperature of Greece is found to be -27.8C while its absolute maximum temperature is +48.7C. Its average annual temperature ranges from +14C to +30C. Nevertheless, because Greece is a mountainous country in general, the real average temperatures of the country vary from one region to the next.

The most popular local winds in Greece are the Etesian winds. Their names note that they have annual fluctuations. They blow from May to October and their highest frequency is known and recorded during the months of July and August. these Etesian winds are the ones responsible for keeping the fluctuations in temperature and diurnal temperature lower in the Aegean sea than those temperatures found in the Ionian sea of the mainland of Greece.