Weekend heatwave breaks 160-year record in Greece

Temperatures in Greece's capital over the weekend were the highest on record for mid-May, according to the National Observatory of Athens, rising to nearly 37°C on both days near the Thission electric train area.

The thermometers showed that May 16 and 17 registered the highest temperatures since it began tracking temperatures in Athens in 1860.

Also, according to the observatory’s records, Athens temperatures exceeded 35°C 18 times since the 19th century.

Eight of those occasions were between 1860 and 1990 and the other 10 in the past 30 years, illustrating the repercussions of climate change.

The increasingly early incidence of high temperatures is one of the key manifestations of climate change in the Eastern Mediterranean, according to the research institution.