A burst of summer heat is set to hit Greece in the coming days, with temperatures soaring above 30 degrees Celsius in select areas by the end of the week. Meteorologists attribute this weather shift to a subtropical air mass ushering in significant heat and clouds of African dust.

Initial impacts will be felt in western and southern Greece, where temperatures will nudge slightly past the 30-degree mark. However, from Saturday, May 18 onwards, regions susceptible to scorching heat, including the island of Crete, Boeotia and Phthiotis in central Greece, Achaea and Ilia in western Greece, Argolis in the eastern part of the Peloponnese and the islands of the Dodecanese in the Aegean Sea, can expect temperature levels to climb above 35 degrees Celsius.

In the Athens metropolitan area, thermometers are poised to exceed 30 degrees Celsius throughout the weekend, while Thessaloniki residents in northern Greece should anticipate temperatures peaking at 27 degrees Celsius, according to meteorological forecasts.