The heatwave engulfing Greece is expected to be the longest in the country’s history, with temperatures forecast to reach a 50-year high for July this weekend.
Kostas Lagouvardos, the director of research at the Athens National Observatory, told ERT television: “According to the data, we will probably go through 16-17 days of a heatwave, which has never happened before in our country.” Greece defines a heatwave as a period when temperatures reach or exceed 39C (102F).