Rainfall halved compared to previous decade
Rainfall in many areas of Greece has decreased by up to a staggering 50% in previous months compared to the average of the last decade, according to research by the National Observatory of Athens network and the Meteo.gr scientific team.
The research found a significant drop in total rainfall in most areas from October 2023 to April 2024, the period when most rainfall occurs in Greece. The only exceptions to the trend are parts of Epirus and Western Macedonia. The comparison was made with the average of the corresponding seven-month period of the decade 2012-2022.
The phenomenon is adversely affecting water reserves, the water table, crops, and soil moisture, while creating more favorable conditions for forest fires, but also leading to water scarcity in the Aegean islands and Crete.
“The shrinking rainfall is even more painful on the Aegean islands and Crete. Not only is it significant, but it is happening for a second year, as last year there was very little rain in these areas, which are also tourist areas. Rainwater in these places is precious, and has been collected in cisterns and so on for a long time. At the same time, while the rain is decreasing, demand for water is increasing due to the tourist traffic, but also due to more holiday homes,” said Kostas Lagouvardos, scientific manager of Meteo.gr, in comments to Kathimerini.
