Talk:Thessaloniki

Possible image of old Salonika for the Commons?

I found Servet-i Funun has some images of old Salonika https://archives.saltresearch.org/bitstream/123456789/129372/750/PFSIF9181003A137.jpg

Maybe this is public domain and eligible for the Commons?

WhisperToMe (talk) 00:04, 17 March 2021 (UTC)

Notable Thessalonians section

This section is currently a sea of blue. I have added the appropriate maintenance template. A list would work a lot better, with the potential to be more informative overall. 1980fast (talk) 23:52, 24 October 2022 (UTC)

Thessaloniki climate classification

I have been watching the past few months various edits suggesting different climate classifications for Thessaloniki. It is true that Thessaloniki borders possibly 3 or even 4 climates.

In any case the data from the most reliable downtown met station in Thessaloniki suggest that for the last decade it is a BSh climate having reached a 18.01C simple avg annual temperature.

https://www.meteothes.gr/

While other time periods will probably render it BSk cold semi-arid, it is definitely not CSa at least from the official data of any station, though it does have strong CSa influences.

What do other editors think about this? Weatherextremes (talk) 12:33, 23 April 2023 (UTC)

Greetings,

I totally agree with this statement. The formulas used by the Koppen classification system all suggest that both the city of Thessaloniki as well as its airport station fall into the semi-arid climate, with the latter bordering both Cfa and Csa climates whereas both are probably observed in the surrounding areas of the city (we could find official nearby station data that confirm this as sources).It would be nice if someone takes a deeper look on this matter so the edit could go through. Syllynqt (talk) 07:49, 24 April 2023 (UTC)

I am proposing the third sentence of the climate section be edited as follows:

According to the Hellenic National Meteorological Service, Thessaloniki has a cold a semi-arid climate (BSk) with strong Mediterranean (Csa) influences, while downtown areas border on a hot semi-arid climate (BSh).

The rest of the paragraph can remain as is. The above edit keeps it short, concise, properly referenced and without going into confusing details. Weatherextremes (talk) 00:01, 25 April 2023 (UTC)

Ι would say it borders a humid subtropical especially in the recent years that summer precipitation has increased though it's still very close to mediterranean , perhaps we could mention all 3 and cite nearby official weather stations Syllynqt (talk) 07:28, 25 April 2023 (UTC)

While the 'recent years' argument does not work, the city does border both Csa and Cfa, because of this rule:

Köppen has defined a dry summer month as a month with less than 30 mm (1.2 in) of precipitation and as a month within the high-sun months of April to September, in the case of the Northern Hemisphere and October to March, in the case of the Southern Hemisphere, and it also must contain exactly or less than one-third that of the wettest winter month.

Some stations don't qualify for this last rule, so the city has both Csa and Cfa influences, although not for the reason defined in the article. My suggestion would be to rewrite the first paragraph this way:

Thessaloniki's climate is transitional, lying on the periphery of multiple climate zones. According to the Köppen climate classification, the city has a semi-arid climate (generally BSk, transitional to BSh downtown), with Mediterranean and humid subtropical influences. Uness232 (talk) 13:15, 25 April 2023 (UTC)

This is a very good edit. I agree to this one since it is concise and covers everything. From my end I am ok to add it on the main article. Weatherextremes (talk) 15:06, 25 April 2023 (UTC)

Hello, it's all fine except for "transitional to BSh downtown" as even the unofficial station (meteothes) has an average simple mean of 17.8 celsius so it's still a BSk climate in the downtown. WikiEditor1890 (talk) 19:50, 25 April 2023 (UTC)

Alright, editing that in, removing that part for now. Uness232 (talk) 20:11, 25 April 2023 (UTC)

Not on topic but I have added Meteothes extremes as well. For me that source can stay even if it's not official data, as it has almost 20 years of temps so it's not that far from a climatological normal. But taking only the last 10 years make no sense as we have 18-19 years of properly sourced data. WikiEditor1890 (talk) 20:14, 25 April 2023 (UTC)

Thanks for the extremes! Yeah I agree. We can keep only the BSk reference for now. I think it will ultimately revert to BSh for the entire time series at some point in the next couple of years so we can keep an eye on it for now. Weatherextremes (talk) 23:13, 25 April 2023 (UTC)

Regarding the BSh part, we could clarify further on which isotherm is used, the 18c mean annual or the 0c mean of the coldest month. so it could be like: Thessaloniki's climate is transitional, lying on the periphery of multiple climate zones. According to the Köppen climate classification, the city has a semi-arid climate (generally BSk,or BSh downtown if the 0c mean temp isotherm of the coldest month is used), with Mediterranean and humid subtropical influences. 2A02:587:C270:EB82:BC22:C9BF:8396:4815 (talk) 07:02, 26 April 2023 (UTC)

^ Syllynqt (talk) 07:12, 26 April 2023 (UTC)

I'd rather not do that. That section on semi-arid climates are unsourced and on thin ice; it seems like there isn't much evidence for that isotherm ever being used. Uness232 (talk) 08:08, 26 April 2023 (UTC)

Also regarding the foggy days at 193, are we sure this is acurate? Perhaps the source defines fog also mist conditions, where visibility is much greater, though the general public doesn't understand the difference Syllynqt (talk) 07:16, 26 April 2023 (UTC)

If it's older data, it likely is correct. Cities around the Aegean and Marmara Seas used to get a ludicrous amount of fog, although this is no longer so in urban zones and only true for rural zones. The best example I know is Gölcük, compared with Tepetarla (for those who don't know, Brouillard is the term you're looking for), or you can see Thessaloniki itself and compare with London or some other humid European city. It's not that statistics include situations where visibility is much greater (although in Thessaloniki's case that might be true in a minority of days) it's just that there's way less fog in the cities now. And we know it's not because of a criteria change, then we would expect the change to be sudden and not gradual as seen around Greece and Turkey. Uness232 (talk) 08:28, 26 April 2023 (UTC)

In that case if the source is accurate I would suggest to clarify the foggy days with a parenthesis stating visibility < 10km because fog is strictly defined as days with visibility below 1km, which is definately not the case in Thessaloniki for 193 days a year! Syllynqt (talk) 09:31, 26 April 2023 (UTC)

aslo, since this conversation is active, take a look at the Athens talk page regarding changes in the climate chapter Syllynqt (talk) 09:34, 26 April 2023 (UTC)

That seems detailed and might require time to delve into sources. It has not been too long since I wrote a climate page from scratch (that of Istanbul) and that amount of climate-source-reading was more than enough for the time being. Best of luck with it though, I might check it for prose afterwards if you plan to be bold and edit it yourself. Uness232 (talk) 09:48, 26 April 2023 (UTC)

I have written a well-rounded summary for the Athens climate section and will be posting it tonight or at most tomorrow, feel free to check and review it and post your opinion! Syllynqt (talk) 18:26, 31 May 2023 (UTC)

That's not what the sources state. Again, see the Thessaloniki page above, it's not that anything below 10km is counted as fog, it's that fog has all but disappeared over the last 50 years. Anyway, since we don't have sources to clarify, better simply to remove it. Uness232 (talk) 09:36, 26 April 2023 (UTC)

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Annual-distribution-of-fog-events-for-the-1971-2005-period_fig2_38108855

What about this source, which describes about 17days/year of fog in thessaloniki Syllynqt (talk) 09:53, 26 April 2023 (UTC)

That study seems to have a wrinkle or two (it seems to conclude that fog has increased in Thessaloniki, extremely unusual for a city with such intense UHI), which to me suggests missing reporting, and indeed earlier weather data (before 1990, especially) in other places seem to be once every 3-6hrs. However, source criticism of this type is not really a Wikipedian's job. It seems to be the most reliable source we have and per rules on verifiability, it gets precedence over my doubts. Uness232 (talk) 10:24, 26 April 2023 (UTC)

I guess what I mean in a more straightforward way is: I don't know if we have good numbers for fog in Thessaloniki. If you have to include something, though, that study would be our best option. Uness232 (talk) 10:30, 26 April 2023 (UTC)

Hello, please don't make sustantial changes as we have recently agreed on a consensus. You can check the page semi-arid climate to see that the "regions of varying/transitional climate" is disputed as it lacks any proper source. The only one we found was talking only about Califonia so it doesn't apply worldwide. The only way a climate can be BSh is if the annual mean gets above 18 celsius, not if the coldest month is above 0 celsius because if we would apply that logic, we would transform half of the world BSk climates into BSh ones. WikiEditor1890 (talk) 16:54, 27 April 2023 (UTC)

The downtown station though does border a hot semi-arid climate as its avg annual T is 17.8c, so I think it's worth mentioning as "closely borders a hot semi-arid climate". Syllynqt (talk) 17:04, 27 April 2023 (UTC)

But it's not an official station (not HNMS, NOA and not even WMO) but more an amateur site so it shouldn't be taken into consideration for climate zones. If we open a RfC or if we ask for an "expert opinion" (like an administrator) that chart and anything regarding that page would be probably deleted for not meeting the minimum WP:RS standards. Which I wouldn't like to happen as I would like to keep that data here so it's best to not to push our luck because all reliable sources put Thessaloniki as a BSk climate. WikiEditor1890 (talk) 17:28, 27 April 2023 (UTC)

You are right on this. Perhaps we should expand the timeseries of the other station of Kalamaria which is an official station from the national observatory of Athens until the present. It would still fall into the BSk but it would also come close to the 18 threshold. Syllynqt (talk) 17:43, 27 April 2023 (UTC)

Hey there, I notice various edits by Syllynqt without an edit summary so these edits can be difficult to follow. As a friendly reminder and since this account is new I would suggest when editing to provide the rationale of your edits at the summary box each time. Weatherextremes (talk) 01:28, 27 April 2023 (UTC)

References

Why no article about "Selanik"?

Why isn't there a separate article called "Selanik"? I want to learn the situation of Selanik (Thessaloniki) during the Ottoman period, not the situation under Greek occupation. 37.155.84.69 (talk) 14:49, 26 May 2023 (UTC)

There are literal paragraphs worth of information about the Ottoman period here, inside and outside the history section; what do you think is missing? Uness232 (talk) 14:55, 26 May 2023 (UTC)

One of the Collage's photos requires replacement; any ideas welcome

Hello everybody. The page's collage: [1] appears to be in need for a replacement of one of its photos due to potential legal issues, and particularly the Science Museum of Thessaloniki... Anyone interested to suggest a photo of another landmark or place in Thessaloniki to replace the Science Museum's photo? Of course, any ideas are welcome, just make sure they aren't about same places (i.e. White Tower) or same type of buildings (churches) which are already included and there is no point in cramming the infobox with too many buildings of one kind which otherwise underepresents Thessaloniki's long and diverse history. - ❖ SilentResident ❖ ^{(talk ✉ | contribs ✎)} 11:18, 5 July 2024 (UTC)

Due to the matter with the Science Museum's photo being pressing for the Wikimedia Commons, I had to act quickly and replace it with another landmark. Chose the Arch of Galerius, I hope it suffices, but everybody is welcome to share their input and propose better alternatives if they do know any. Good day. --- ❖ SilentResident ❖ ^{(talk ✉ | contribs ✎)} 14:16, 5 July 2024 (UTC)

This is my own photo, but if it is not good enough I am sure there are many others

I would say the castle would be a good landmark to feature. Ymblanter (talk) 20:29, 5 July 2024 (UTC)

Hi, Ymblanter! Thats a great idea. Feel free to include the photo to it if you have time. An editor from Wikimedia commons also advised that we use the Athens styled collage with multiple photos for the Thessaloniki's infobox, an idea which I find more practical and better to what we have now, but I don't have much time lately to learn the code and implement it here from there. --- ❖ SilentResident ❖ ^{(talk ✉ | contribs ✎)} 21:32, 7 July 2024 (UTC)

Rewriting using Athens template

@SilentResident: Here's an attempt to rewrite using the template at Athens. Unfortunately it does not allow an image to span two rows, so I added a photo of the castle. I placed the panoramic image at the top as it will appear in thumbnails for the article and gives the best overview of the city.

Current infobox using File:Thessalonica Montage L.png:

Thessaloniki Θεσσαλονίκη Saloniki
Clockwise from top: Aristotle Square, Church of Saint Demetrius, Arch of Galerius, Panoramic view of Thessaloniki's waterfront and the Thermaic Gulf, White Tower of Thessaloniki

Using {{multiple image}} template:

Thessaloniki Θεσσαλονίκη Saloniki
Panoramic view of Thessaloniki's waterfront and the Thermaic Gulf Heptapyrgion White Tower of Thessaloniki Church of Saint Demetrius Arch of Galerius Aristotle Square

-Consigned (talk) 11:24, 5 August 2024 (UTC)

@Consigned:, that's an amazing job you have done there! It looks pretty good to me even with the adjustments you had to make for it to work! --- ❖ SilentResident ❖ ^{(talk ✉ | contribs ✎)} 16:57, 5 August 2024 (UTC)

I suggest that Consigned's great job with the new-style infobox is reflected on the article, assuming none minds these improvements, which, IMO, solve some chronic issues which plague the old-style infobox when copyright or other content-removal cases arise. --- ❖ SilentResident ❖ ^{(talk ✉ | contribs ✎)} 23:43, 7 August 2024 (UTC)

Sounds good, I've updated it on the article. With this template it should be easier to make further changes if anyone wants them. Consigned (talk) 10:39, 8 August 2024 (UTC)

Preview image

Hello, I liked the new design of the infobox images, I just happened to have one question. I recently noticed that since these are multiple separate images, only one of them can appear in the preview of the article (when you hover the mouse over the link); this is the image of the Heptapyrgion (similar to how for Athens appears the image of Zappeion). I was wondering whether it would be better if we switched the images of the Heptapyrgion and the White Tower, so that the tower would appear in the article preview instead. I'm saying this since the white tower is not only more recognizable on first sight, but is generally the most well-known monument of the city. Perhaps, we could also use a higher quality image of the tower; I guess there are many images in commons. I'll wait for an opinion. Piccco (talk) 11:26, 6 September 2024 (UTC)

Makes sense, go for it! Just make sure the tower photo looks good when sized to a thumbnail. Consigned (talk) 19:13, 10 September 2024 (UTC)

I changed the order of the photos, now hopefully the tower should be the thumbnail. Feel free to make further changes such as a better photo of the tower if you can find one. Consigned (talk) 21:24, 21 September 2024 (UTC)

I made the change but to me the preview is still showing the Heptapyrgion. Maybe the preview is showing first image with a certain aspect ratio, and is ignoring the skyline for being too wide and tower for being too tall? Consigned (talk) 20:58, 22 September 2024 (UTC)

Thessaloniki International Fair northernmost station in the world with a BSh climate

According to this source here [2] there is no station in the world north of the Thessaloniki International Fair WMO station with a BSh climate. Also its irrelevant if for few years a location has a BSh climate but not for their entire time-series. For its entire time-series Thessaloniki International Fair WMO station has a clear BSh climate. Tortosa for example has at least 30 years time series while Tarragona has a full time series of 2008-2024 and of course neither is BSh ([3], [4])

So, since Thessaloniki International Fair station appears to be the northernmost station in the world with its full time-series being a BSh climate I suggest we tentatively add this to the main article as it is a very interesting fact for the city's climate. This can be supported also from the Downtown Thessaloniki station with 20 years of data which is only 0.06C away from entering the BSh climate. By the end of the year also the Meteothes downtown station for its entire 20 years time-series will probably enter the BSh climate, provided the year remains as hot as recent years. So I say we go for it! Weatherextremes (talk) 09:53, 23 August 2024 (UTC)

I'm not saying that the Thessaloniki Internacional Fair station is not BSh, because the average annual temperature is very close to 18ºC. What I am saying here is this statement that "it is the northernmost meteo station/region in Europe and the world with a semi-arid BSh climate" which is very doubtful. Climatological normals are defined as a 30-year period and this period is always preferable, while 20-year periods can be used to study more recent climate data due to climate change and global warming. This is what the WMO says.

However, you are comparing a period from 2005-2024 (Thessaloniki) with one from 1991-2020 (Tortosa), which is not fair, since there are several regions of the world where they have transitional climates in that period, as is the case of Tortosa which in 1991-2020 is close to semi-arid BSh, but during 2005-2024 (i.e. the same period as Thessaloniki) it already becomes BSh, even if it is close to the upper threshold. Furthermore, more recent years are on average warmer than older years due to global warming and obviously this means that more recent periods cause regions from BSk to change to BSh or in other cases, Csa to BSh.

What is at stake here is the comparison of different periods (1991-2020) for all other regions with that of 2005-2024 for Thessaloniki. Farell37 (talk) 20:19, 23 August 2024 (UTC)

The comparison with Tortosa is irrelevant. It already has a full time-series with 30 years which shows its not BSh also AEMET OpenData are provisional and many mistakes exist. For example here one example showing -50C or 50C [5], I have found more than 10 stations with obviously wrong data from AEMET OpenData. Anyhow, the main point is that for Thessaloniki we have 1 station with already full time series BSh even if the POR is shorter. The Thessaloniki International Fair station is indeed the northernmost WMO station in the world with a full time-series showing a BSh climate. It should be included. Weatherextremes (talk) 22:24, 23 August 2024 (UTC)

The comparison between the 2 is not irrelevant, because you are comparing 2 different periods. You can't compare potatoes to lemons. You are making a similar situation, putting the period of Tortosa from 1991-2020 and the period of Thessaloniki from 2005-2024. You have to for 2 equal periods, not one longer than the other. If the 2 periods were the same Tortosa and Thessaloniki from 2005-2024, there would not be any problem because the period is the same. Just because Tortosa is BSh in 2005-2024 makes the comparison irrelevant? Furthermore, are you forgetting that the map you show, the Koppen map, is only for the period 1991-2020?

Also, we've already had this conversation about AEMET OpenData data being provisional and containing "many errors", and this is not accurate. Here you have a screenshot I took of the frequency with which AEMET OpenData data is updated (directly from AEMET OpenData, not from MPinar) [6]. Periodicidad 1 vez al dia "Frequency once a day"

Also these 50ºC and -50ºC are obvisouly not taken into account and even AEMET didn't made average mean max or minimum for September [7] (missing the t_max, t_min and t_mes) while without any error appears with t_max, t_min, etc [8] Something that MPinar has this problem with is that it takes into account all these values, something that AEMET OpenData itself does not take into account. Farell37 (talk) 22:51, 23 August 2024 (UTC)

Anyhow the errors that AEMET OpenData has which are many are indeed irrelevant, as is also the comparison with any other station which we already know from their full-time series is not BSh. The question we should be asking here is Is there any other station in the world so far north with its full time-series showing a BSh climate?. The answer is no. This is why the Thessaloniki International Fair station is unique in the world and the statement which says its the northernmost station of the world with a BSh climate is accurate. Weatherextremes (talk) 23:18, 23 August 2024 (UTC)

The answer is yes: Tortosa between the period 2005-2024 which is also a full period of 20 years, just like Thessaloniki. And there may still be other meteo stations in the world further north of Tortosa with a BSh. The problem is:

-Different POR are being compared with the rest of the world. This source [9] shows for the period 1991-2020 and the Thessaloniki International Fair station is for 2005-2024. Again, you can't compare lemons to potatoes. There is a strong possibility that this is based on OR. This is not an accusation, but rather when you don't have sources that specifically say or show that it is the northernmost region in the world with a BSh climate. The source you showed is from 1991-2020, not 2005-2024.

Also, now I noticed that the Thessaloniki International Fair station is only from 2018-2024, which is a very short POR. That station is from NOA, which is very accurate. The other one from 2005-2024 it is from a website for amateur weather stations [10], so it does not have the same accuracy as the official ones and cannot be used on Wikipedia. This is another additional problem: unofficial weather station sources.

This statement "it's the northernmost station of the world with a BSh climate" is Original Research that goes against Wikipedia rules. If this doesn't go anywhere, we have to report the case to RfC or to Dispute Resolution Noticeboard. This to prevent any edit warring. Farell37 (talk) 23:47, 23 August 2024 (UTC)

I understand you don't know much about Thessaloniki but the International Fair area is a really really mild area. It might be due to the fact its situated smack bang in the center of the city, a really busy area and the UHI might play a role that drives it to be so hot.

Anyhow, I compared the Meteothes station with the International Fair station for the same period (Sep 2018-July 2024) and the International Fair station as is expected is warmer by almost 0.1C in mean annual temperatures. So one can easily assume this area was already BSh from 2005.

Oh and also regarding the historical Meteothes station being unofficial. I get it you are not aware that this station is the most historic station of downtown Thessaloniki after the AUTH station. It is widely trusted and cited in reliable sources, here is one example out of many [11] where the National Technical University of Athens cites the data of the station.

Tbh, knowing Thessaloniki's climate very well and how urbanized this area is I believe it was always BSh for a proper 30 years time series. But one can only assume. Assumptions are not proof like the proof we have that Tortosa for a 30 years time series is not BSh.

Anyhow, I think we should allow time for other editors to comment and then if there is not a consensus we can take it to RfC. Also going to RfC is not reporting. We will ask the community to comment democratically. But I believe its obvious that the International Fair station is unique in the world for being the northernmost area with a BSh climate. Potentially even for 30 years! Weatherextremes (talk) 00:02, 24 August 2024 (UTC)

Very interesting! It seems that much meteo stations of Greece, even not belonging to NOA or HNMS are located outside and inside the cities to study the UHI effect. We know that this area of ​​Greece has a BSh climate in this period based on this data, but we don't know exactly in 1991-2020. An RfC can be very helpful here and waiting for other editors to interact and replying in this discussion.

I know that in Portugal, weather stations are not generally placed very close to the city, so as not to take into account the effects of the UHI, in order to accurately measure the exact temperatures. This also occurs in Spain, in addition, AEMET even changed its method of measuring average annual temperatures and precipitation at national level, using 1 x 1 km grids, which does not take into account UHI phenomena, which would explain the lower average annual temperatures, as this also takes into account all mountainous regions and where there are no meteorological stations. It is a slightly opposite situation to what occurs in Greece, which has meteorological stations both inside cities and outside them to study the UHI phenomenon that affects the country.

I assume that Greece suffers a lot from UHI problems during the summer and even in the winter, which explains the exceptionally high night temperatures inside the cities and lower outside them. Portugal and Spain also suffer from UHI, of course, but in a slightly less intense way because several measures were taken to mitigate these effects. Farell37 (talk) 00:29, 24 August 2024 (UTC)

Athens and Thessaloniki have a lot of UHI's but all the other areas not so much. Specifically for the International Fair area which I know pretty well and I have visited many times its obvious this place is exceptionally mild. I don't know if its only due to UHI or due to its location next to the sea but you can feel the difference with the rest of Thessaloniki.

Now the Meteothes station is very important in Greece because its a Davis fan aspirated station which as we have seen from NOA they are very very accurate stations. So some researchers use its data to project future urban climates, UHI studies, etc. Weatherextremes (talk) 00:40, 24 August 2024 (UTC)

Also I forgot to mention that Greece's high minimum temperatures during the summer are not because of the UHI. It is because of Greece's position next to the Middle East. Small villages outside of any UHI in south Greece have remarkably high summer minimums due to this reality in Greece's climate. There is no area in Europe that can compete with south Greece's summer minimums. Even north Greece has remarkable summer minimums that reach 25.0C. Check for example Great Lavra in the middle of nowhere with no UHI of course. Weatherextremes (talk) 16:08, 24 August 2024 (UTC)

Yes, Greece is absolutely unbeatable in terms of summer minimums at a european level. It makes sense, because Middle East has astronomical minimum temperatures that are among the highest in the world during the summer, so Greece it has this at European level. I strongly believe that all houses have air conditioning to combat tropical and even hellish nights as they say in Spain, where minimum temperatures do not drop below 30ºC.

In Portugal, minimum temperatures are lower due to the fresh waters of the North Atlantic, which makes night temperatures lower, but benefits in winter, as minimum winter temperatures are quite mild and Lisbon is the European capital with the mildest minimum temperatures during the winter.

In Spain, summer days tend to be scorching in several areas, the highest in Europe on many occasions, although some areas of Portugal (Reguengos de Monsaraz this month, has an average high of 38.5ºC by far) and even Greece (39.1ºC July 2024 on Serres, and above 38ºC this month of August on Gavalou and Serres too) can compete, but it is very difficult. Even areas in the interior of central Spain have maximum averages very close to or even 36ºC over a period of 15 years, such as Almáden or Toledo. However, nights are cooler, although it can remain hot, but nothing to do with the same level as Greece. Farell37 (talk) 16:34, 24 August 2024 (UTC)

Yes the continentality of Iberia is big factor than can't allow summer minimums to reach as high as Greece. Greece has much less landmass and more exposure to the sea so the minimums are very high. On the other hand we are also recently discovering that we have very strong areas in summer mean maximum temperatures. Apart from the Evrotas Valley which is the champion we see that the foehn effect is a very strong factor in Greece and already in Stylida next to the sea we have a mean maximum of 37.3ºC in July which can't be found anywhere in Europe next to the sea (the station is only 200 meters from the coast). Its only 4 years of data of course but the wider Fthiotida area is well known in Greece for sustained foehn winds. Because I know the area well I believe that in a 30 years period it might even pass Sparta. Weatherextremes (talk) 16:45, 24 August 2024 (UTC)

Stylida it's impressive these high temperatures occur, just being 200 meters away from the sea. I believe that low humidity levels contribute a lot to this, causing the temperature to rise more. In Spain, daytime temperatures on the Mediterranean coast where the water is warm are more moderate, but humidity levels are generally high, which sometimes makes the heat more unbearable and umcomfortable compared to the interior of Spain and the nights, although less hot compared to Greece, it can be very stuffy and sticky due to the high level of humidity. Farell37 (talk) 17:01, 24 August 2024 (UTC)

Particularly in Stylida the main factor is the foehn winds coming from the huge mountains of central Greece. The station is located in the foothills of the mountains and the foehn effect is very dynamic. This is also because the sea of Fthiotida is pretty much a closed sea if you notice the geography. It's like the sea is there but the sea breeze is very weak to actually do something. Also given that in Greece during the summer we have constant Meltemi winds then you see Stylida registering these values. We are looking closely this area the next few years but the meteo community in Greece is expecting this station to really pressure Sparta as more years of data are adding up. Weatherextremes (talk) 17:09, 24 August 2024 (UTC)

Something similar occurs in the Persian Gulf, where it is closed sea, but it can have exceptionally high temperatures during the summer, and in recent years the heat there has been potentially fatal combined with the high humidity.

I don't know if this will beat Sparta's levels, as this will depend a lot on whether the next summers will be very hot or not, since Sparta, even in years that are not very hot, manages to have very high maximum averages. As far as I know and from what I saw, this summer was the hottest ever in Greece, which contributed to heat records at a national level. So much so that it even surpassed the levels of Seville and Córdoba this July (Seville this July was normal, with an average of 36.7ºC although still slightly warmer compared to 1991-2020, while Montoro even during summers that are not the hottest, it can have maximum averages of 39.7ºC, almost 40ºC). Summer in Andalusia and Spain in general this year has not been historic, although still slightly warmer than normal. Farell37 (talk) 17:27, 24 August 2024 (UTC)

The data of Stylida have inside the summer of 2022 which was really weak in Greece and yet still Stylida was among the hottest places in the country. This is again due to the constant foehn winds.

Yes, 2024 summer has been historic in Greece. Serres has beaten Seville's all time JJA mean max record by a huge margin. We have to wait a few more days to see if Serres will also beat Cordoba's JJA record from 2017 or if it will tie it. This is incredible by Greece's standards. Also this year Greece had 52 days that at least one area in the country had 40.0C+ , again this is incredible for the country and is a historic record. Weatherextremes (talk) 17:46, 24 August 2024 (UTC)

Both Serres (2024) and Cordoba AP (2017) currently have JJA record mean max of 38.4C. Let's wait and see what will happen until the end of August. Weatherextremes (talk) 17:50, 24 August 2024 (UTC)

Btw we also have 2 private stations in the Serres valley that in July they recorded mean max over 40.0C! One recorded 40.1C and the other 40.3C but they are private stations so they only give us an idea of how hot this summer was in the Serres valley. This year Serres was particularly hit because the heatwave attacked the Balkans mostly. Weatherextremes (talk) 17:55, 24 August 2024 (UTC)

Yes, valleys contributes to much hotter temperatures, as happens in Guadalquivir Valley when Seville, Écija, Córdoba, Montoro, Andújar are located. The eastern part of Guadalquivir is hotter during the summer compared to the western part. Interestingly, something unique that occurs in this valley and also in mostly of Spain is that the max temperature is reached much later compared to other European countries. The maximum temperature is often reached between 16:00 and 20:00, with the most common being between 17:00 and 20:00. This is due to its very late sunsets for its latitude.

Maybe Serres will tie with Córdoba record, because of the lower max temperatures are being recorded during August, but only the registers will say it until the end of August and we can see if will surpass or tie with Córdoba. Also, Montoro has a record of 38.5ºC JJA on 2017. A bit higher than Córdoba, but lower than I thought, because Montoro is at least 1ºC hotter than Córdoba during the summer. Farell37 (talk) 18:38, 24 August 2024 (UTC)

Yes, its impressive that Montoro managed 38.5C JJA record and Serres in Greece is very close today with 38.4C this year. This goes to show how historical 2024 summer has been for Greece. Of course there is still one week to go until the end of the month but the fact that Serres has smashed Seville's all time JJA record and is very close to Cordoba and Montoro is very impressive.

Of course there are many private stations in the Serres and Kilkis valleys that have higher JJA mean maxes this year (some even reach 38.7C) but ok they are private stations so they are only there as indications of how historic the 2024 summer has been for Greece. Weatherextremes (talk) 18:46, 24 August 2024 (UTC)

It was historical summer for Greece and Balkans. I believe that regions like Sparta, Gavalou and Stylida in Greece also broke their mean max temperatures, as well as much other cities of Greece and Balkans countries. Despite this, the highest temperature recorded in Europe this year was in Spain in El Granado with 45.7ºC followed by Portugal with 45.6ºC, but it was much hotter throughout the summer in Greece and the Balkan countries than in the Iberian Peninsula.

Actually, the Seville JJA record is 37.1ºC last year, recorded at Seville Tablada station, which is in the city center, but anyways Serres It beat the Seville record by far. Even Granada with less hot summers has a higher JJA record of 37.5ºC. Farell37 (talk) 00:04, 25 August 2024 (UTC)

Yes Sparta, Gavalou, Stylida and Skala Messinias all have JJA mean max this summer over 38.0C. Even downtown Athens has a JJA mean max record of 37.0C this year. This is an unprecedented summer in Greece. I don't believe it will happen again easily. More than half of the summer (50+ days) we had 40.0C in Greece. That has never happened before. Weatherextremes (talk) 01:46, 25 August 2024 (UTC)