The month of July in Cyprus this year has emerged as one of the hottest Julys on record, with numerous records either being broken or surpassed, according to the Meteorology Department.
In a statement released by the department, July witnessed exceptionally high temperatures across the island and throughout the southern parts of Europe. Specifically, an extensive high-pressure system, known as the Azores High, accompanied by warm and dry air masses, extended from the beginning of the month along the coasts of Africa and Western Europe.
Gradually, it spread eastward towards the central and eastern Mediterranean, affecting the weather in Southern European countries as well as our own island, especially during the latter half of the month.
This weather phenomenon was dubbed “Cleon.”
During this year’s July, Cyprus broke the record for consecutive days with maximum daily temperatures exceeding the threshold for issuing a yellow-level warning for extremely high temperatures. The meteorological station at Athalassa exceeded the previous record of consecutive days with maximum daily temperatures equal to or greater than 40°C, set in 2000 (with a total of 12 consecutive days of Tmax≥40°C). This year, there were a total of 16 consecutive days with Tmax≥40°C.
Notably, during these 16 consecutive days, the maximum daily temperature not only exceeded 40°C but also reached or surpassed 42°C. Never before had there been so many and simultaneously consecutive days with such high temperatures recorded at the Athalassa station during the month of July.
Furthermore, the minimum daily temperatures recorded at various stations were also remarkably high. Positive deviations in daily minimum temperatures were observed at all stations compared to their respective normal values, ranging from 1.3°C to 2.6°C.
Extreme high maximum temperatures for the month of July were recorded at all stations.
The highest maximum temperature recorded at Athalassa was 44.6°C, tying it for first place with the maximum temperature recorded in July 2017.
At Larnaca and Paphos airports, the highest maximum temperatures recorded this July were 40.4°C and 38.1°C respectively, placing both these stations in third place. The highest extreme maximum at Larnaca Airport was recorded in July 1998 (41.1°C), and at Paphos Airport, it was in July 2017 (41.6°C).
At Akrotiri, the highest maximum temperature recorded this July was 38°C, ranking it in seventh place, following 1977 when the extreme maximum temperature reached 40.2°C.
Finally, for this year’s July, the Forestry College in Prodromos ranks in eighth place, with a maximum temperature of 34.5°C, following its 2017 record of 36.7°C.
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