ATHENS – After a spell of relatively milder spring weather, Greece is girding for its first, if short, heat wave of the summer, with predictions that temperatures in some parts could hit 104 degrees as tourists are pouring in.

Meterologists said there are indications, however, that the higher temperatures – around 40 degrees Celsius ore more – could linger through the rest of June, mirroring the brutal heatwave of 2021 that saw hundreds of wildfires explode across the country.

“An especially warm 10 days lie ahead, peaking this week,” the head of research and of the Meteo weather service at the National Observatory, Kostas Lagouvardos, told Kathimerini about the change in temperatures.

He said that temperatures are expected to be 2-3 degrees higher than the average for this time of year across the country, espececially on the eastern mainland and the southern of the country’s biggest island, Crete.

“Even if the spikes are quite brief, the extended nature of the heatwave will be a challenge for a lot of people, especially after a relatively cool spell,” he said, the New Democracy government late to open a platform for people to replace older electricity-burning air conditioners.

Greece’s national weather service (EMY) issued an emergency bulletin on June 20 that the temperatures will start climbing through the week but that there’s a chance that they could fall at the end of the week, if briefly

“The heat will subside on Saturday (June 25,) but this will only be temporary,” said Lagouvardos, advising the heat will be back on again at uncomfortable temperatures, making the beaches a lure.