The Greek heatwave called 'Cleon' hit the country on Friday 14th June 2023 after a gradual build-up of heat in the days before.  It is expected to continue over the weekend, with meteorologists predicting highs of over 41°C in many parts of the country.  Temperatures in Athens reached 44°C on Friday, with the Greek government instructing civil servants to stay at home.  The Acropolis in Athens and many open-air archeological sites across the country, including Knossos in Crete, will be closed from 11:30am until 5:30pm over the weekend.  In Athens, the Ancient Agora and the Kerameikos will remain in operation, in addition to the Archaeological Museums which are fully air-conditioned.  The Red Cross distributed over 50,000 bottles of cool water to the thousands of visitors at the historical sites in Greece.

In Syntagma, where temperatures hit 44.5°C, the presidential guards at the Monument to the Unknown Soldier, called Evzones, were melting as they remained motionless in their positions.  The duty officer often approaches them to give them ice water and wipe the sweat from their faces.  This did not deter tourists from photographing the Evzones doing their duty.  Authorities in Greece issued fire hazard warnings as heatwave 'Cleon' took effect on Friday.  Sothern Europe will continue to swelter next week as the intence heatwave shows no sign of abating. Southern Spain, the whole of Italy and Greece will experience high temperatures for several days through into next week.  The Italian Health Ministry issued a red alert for 16 cities, including Rome, Bologna and Florence for this weekend.

Thankfully, temperatures in Ermionida did not exceed 39.5°C today, and are expected to fall slightly on Sunday evening when a cool Aegean wind known as 'meltemi' should help people from experiencing the worst of the first phase of the summer heatwave.  The second phase of 'Cleon' will return in full force from Thursday 20th July when the northerly 'meltemi' summer breeze, which reaches up to 7 Beaufort, starts to abate.  Temperatures will reach a new peak, around 43°C, affecting the whole country between next Friday and Sunday, before the cooling winds start to blow once more next Monday.

In 2003, a heatwave swept across Europe, claiming the lives of over 70,000 people.  More recently, in 2022, another heatwave hit Europe, resulting in the deaths of almost 62,000 people.  Let's hope this year, with some preparation, will not be as bad as before.

In America, temperatures at the weekend reached 53.9°C in Death Valley, California, 46.6°C in Las Vegas, Nevada, and 46.1°C in Phoenix, Arizona.  In China, the highest temperature reached 52.2°C in the village of Sanbao in the north-west region of Xinjiang.

A new maximum temperature record in Greece was registered on Sunday 23rd July 2023.  Gytheio, located on the southern Peloponnese coastline, located between Kalamata and Monemvasia, experienced an absolute maximum temperature of 46.4°C. This was the fourth highest temperature recorded in Greece since records began.  The highest was 47.1°C recorded in 2021.

The 15-day 'Cleon' heatwave that ended early on Thursday morning 27th July 2023, was the longest one recorded in the country.