Europe 1 with AFP / Photo credit: Nicolas Economou / NurPhoto / NurPhoto via AFP 16:17 pm, July 21, 2023

This weekend in Greece "may be the hottest in the last fifty years" for a month of July, said Friday a meteorologist of the public channel while the country suffers a heat wave that is expected to continue next week.

According to the national meteorological service EMY, midday Friday, temperatures of 41 ° C were recorded in Attica, in the region of Athens, and up to 44 ° C in Thessaly, in the center of the country.

On the island of Evia, a 46-year-old man died on Friday after being admitted to hospital with a "body temperature of 40 degrees". "The possible cause of death is cardiorespiratory arrest after exposure to a very high temperature," the Chalkida hospital statement said.

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Sunday: the hottest day of the week

Sunday promises to be the worst day with temperatures approaching 44 ° C in Athens and 45 ° C in Thessaly. "This weekend is likely to be the hottest recorded in July in the last fifty years," said ERT meteorologist Panagiotis Giannopoulos.

"Athens will have temperatures of more than 40 ° C for 6 to 7 days, until the end of July," an exceptionally long period even for a European capital accustomed to summer heat, he said. An opinion shared by the meteorologist of the private television channel Mega, Yannis Kallianos, who described this heat wave as an "endless and powerful heat wave".

"According to the latest forecasts, the heat wave could last until next Thursday and Friday, July 27 and 28," he added. On Sunday and Monday, north winds of up to 60 km / h may also favor the start of fires, warned the expert.

44.8°C was recorded in June 2007

All archaeological sites in the country, including the Acropolis of Athens, remain closed during the hottest hours of the day until Sunday, according to the Ministry of Culture. The Ministry of Labour has called on employers to promote teleworking while the Ministry of Health has made recommendations to avoid all unnecessary travel in the middle of the day.

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"We have three difficult days ahead of us. We must be vigilant!", also warned the Minister of Civil Protection Vassilis Kikilias on ERT. In the Greek capital, an absolute temperature record of 44.8°C was recorded in June 2007, according to the National Observatory of Athens, while the absolute record in Greece was reached in July 1977 with 48°C in Elefsina, near Athens.