43 Degrees and a Top-Level Alert: Greece Burns on Its Hottest Day of the Year, While Seven Islands Are Literally Running Out of Water
Outdoor work banned in the afternoon, Knossos closed at the peak of the heat, thermal-camera drones over Athens — and the Balkans are flipping from heatwave straight into hail and storms
On Wednesday Greece endured its hottest day of the year, with temperatures reaching 43°C, as Civil Protection declared a Category 5 alert — "extreme fire risk" — for the greater Athens region, Central Greece and the Peloponnese. At the same time, a drought emergency has been declared on seven Aegean islands at the height of the tourist season.
Rarely seen measures
The labor ministry banned outdoor work between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. in the regions with the highest temperatures, and the archaeological site of Knossos on Crete was closed to visitors during the hottest hours. Drones with thermal cameras are flying over the Athens metropolitan area, and water cannons have been stationed at key points.
"I urge every citizen to follow the authorities' instructions and to avoid any work that could start a fire," appealed Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Evangelos Tournas.
Islands without a drop in reserve
The drought is turning the heat into a long-term crisis. On Astypalaia and six other Aegean islands, water is being preserved through emergency measures so it can reach the tourists filling the resorts.
"If we collected all the water dropped throughout the year in a bucket, it would be 2.5 centimeters deep," Astypalaia Mayor Nikos Komineas illustrated.Environment Minister Stavros Papastavrou told fellow ministers in Luxembourg that for Greece, water "isn't theoretical — it's about security, economic growth and the protection of local communities."
The Balkans: from 42 degrees to five-centimeter hail
The heat has not spared the rest of the region — thermometers in Tirana hit 42°C, and the Danube's level in Serbia dropped to its lowest point since 1946. Meteorologists now warn of a dramatic reversal: from Thursday, sudden cooling, torrential rain and hailstorms will spread from Croatia and Slovenia, across Bosnia, to southern Serbia and North Macedonia. Scientists agree — such extreme swings, from record heat to destructive hail within 48 hours, are precisely the face of climate change in the Balkans.
