It took just five days for Greece to swing from May Day snowfalls in the mountains of Attica to sunbathers crowding its warm sandy beaches. Over the past week, temperatures have surged dramatically, climbing by as much as 15 degrees Celsius compared with the previous spell of unseasonably cold weather.
Athens offers perhaps the clearest example of this meteorological roller coaster. On May 2, the Greek capital recorded a century-low daytime high for the date, with temperatures reaching just 15.2°C. Yesterday, by contrast, the mercury soared to 31°C.
At first glance, it feels as though the weather has lost its mind.
But meteorologist Theodoros Kolydas says otherwise. Speaking to Ta Nea, he explained that temperatures across Greece in recent days have been running “4 to 5 degrees Celsius above normal seasonal levels.”
Today, maximum temperatures are expected to climb even higher, locally reaching 32°C to 33°C. Athens is forecast to hit 31°C, Thessaloniki 28°C, while parts of Central Greece — including Thebes, Livadeia and possibly eastern Peloponnese — could see temperatures rise to 33°C.
These figures stand well above the average May temperatures for Greece, which typically range from 26°C to 28°C, with Athens averaging 26.2°C.
Still, Kolydas notes that Greece has experienced even hotter May days before. In 2021, temperatures in Crete climbed to 37.3°C. “The weather hasn’t gone crazy,” he says. “In Greece, you can expect everything.”
Situated at the crossroads between northern and southern weather systems, Greece is especially vulnerable to abrupt atmospheric shifts. Cold air masses can sweep down rapidly from the north, only to be replaced days later by warm currents from the south.
“Within ten days, the country can move from winter conditions and snowfall to near-summer temperatures and warm seas,” Kolydas explains. “Greece can experience 17 different weather types — at times resembling the African Sahara, at others an Alpine landscape.”
The Cold Snap That Broke Records
The latest temperature surge came immediately after one of the most remarkable cold spells recorded in recent decades.
Between May 1 and May 3, 2026, Greece experienced record-breaking low temperatures accompanied by widespread snowfall across several regions. According to data from the National Observatory of Athens weather station in Thissio, May Day 2026 ranked among the coldest ever recorded in the capital.
With an average 24-hour temperature of just 13.3°C, it was the fourth-coldest May 1 in Athens in the past 135 years. Only 1944, 1987 and 1988 were colder.
The daytime high of 15.2°C recorded on May 2 was particularly extraordinary: the lowest maximum temperature ever observed for that date since records began in 1890.
Researchers at the National Observatory’s ClimateHub also noted exceptionally low temperatures on May 3 and May 4, with both days ranking among the coldest on record for those dates.
And then, just four days later, temperatures were brushing against 30°C.
Scientists say such dramatic swings may be linked to broader climatic changes. Researchers at the National Observatory’s AtmoHub point out that while climate naturally displays strong variability, global warming — particularly the uneven warming observed across different regions of the planet — is increasingly affecting atmospheric circulation patterns.
That, they say, influences not only the intensity of weather systems but also their geographical distribution and seasonal timing, including both cold and warm air intrusions.
Another Shift on the Way
Meteorologists now expect another change in conditions beginning tomorrow. Temperatures are forecast to fall back to more typical seasonal levels of around 24°C to 25°C, while rainfall is expected across parts of Central and Northern Greece.
Even so, long-range forecasts suggest southeastern Europe — including Greece — is likely to experience a warmer-than-average June, with temperatures projected to remain roughly 0.76°C above seasonal norms.
