Brace yourself for what could be another scorching summer in Greece as scientists are anxious that a warm winter – the warmest January recorded – and climate change will continue to bring weather anomalies.

data from the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.

The National Observatory of Athens, which analyzed data, found the average high temperature was 1.8 degrees Celsius (3.24 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the peak average winter temperatures from 1960-2024, said Reuters.

“Temperatures were above normal on most days, with only small intervals of cold weather. This is a new reality, and we must take it seriously. Climate change is undoubtedly here,” Konstantinos Lagouvardos, Research Director at the National Observatory, told the news agency.

https://www.thecooldown.com/outdoors/greece-hot-winter-climate-change/

The report said six of Greece’s warmest winters have taken place in the last 10 years and besides the effect on tourism climate change could bring there’s concerns about the impact on agriculture, which provides 4 percent of the GDP.

That’s especially over the most prized product, olive oil, with a drop in crop yields pushing the prices out of reach for many, with Extra Virgin becoming a product for those with means and consumers switching to other oils.

“The lack of a proper winter will create problems, for sure,” Michalis Antonopoulos, the head of the farmers’ cooperative of Kalamata, told Reuters, as colder winters prevent the olives from flowering too soon.

Scientists told the outlet that wildfires could once again ravage the country, with low rainfall and humidity being the other factors taken into consideration along with the warm winter.

“Unfortunately, it is not all that surprising, given the extreme conditions in the region. The observed intensity and estimated emissions show how unusual the scale of the fires have been,” CAMS Senior Scientist Mark Parrington said in a statement.

The summer of 2023 brought deadly fires along with record heat that surpassed 111 degrees Fahrenheit in some parts of the country, for which the government said climate change was a major factor.