Greece is a mountainous country, with flat land restricted to many small coastal plains. The mountains, which form part of the Alpine system, generally stretch from northwest to southeast. They are highest and most rugged in the northwest, where the Pindhos mountains rise to 2,285 m and the Grammos peak to over 2,519 m, although the highest mountain in the country (Mount Olympus; 2,917 m) is in east central Greece. The mountains are interrupted by the long, narrow Gulf of Korinthos, which almost cuts off southern Greece from the rest of the peninsula. But the mountains continue south of the gulf and terminate in the three headlands of southern Greece. The Cyclades continue the eastern ranges toward the Turkish mainland, and Crete and Rhodes are continuations of the more westerly ranges. The largest plains are those of Makedhonia, Thessalia, and Thraki, all of which border the Aegean Sea.
The climate of Greece is typically Mediterranean. Summers are long, hot, and dry. The average temperature in July is 26.7°C, in Athinai, but is much lower in the mountains. Winters are mild, the average January temperature is 9.2°C. Winter temperatures are also much lower in the interior, in mountain valleys averages are close to freezing, and prolonged frosts may occur. Snow is not uncommon away from the coasts. Precipitation varies greatly. In the interior, the climate is continental with cold winters and hot summer. The precipitation pattern exhibits two maxima, one during the winter and one during the summer. In Athinai it averages 394 mm annually, but it is much higher away from the east coast and rises to more than 1,200 mm in the higher mountains. In all parts of the country, rainfall is seasonal, most of it coming in late fall and winter. Only in Macedonia and Thrace is there a significant summer rainfall; almost no rain falls in the rest of the country.
Total population is 10,538,594 (World Factbook, July 1996 est.). More than 60% of the people live in urbanized areas. The capital of Greece, Athinai, has more than 4,000,000 inhabitants. The second largest city is Thessaloniki (about 1,000,000 inhabitants). Other big cities are Patrai (250,000), Iraklion (100,000) and Larisa (80,000). There are also more than 10 cities with population between 40,000 and 80,000. The population has grown rapidly during the last 150 years. Many rural areas have become overpopulated although there was a large migration, especially to the United States, Australia and Germany during the 50's and 60's.
Stations from the IDMP Network measure both daylight and solar radiation.

IDMP Network/Athinai

Lat.: 37°58' N
Long.: 23°43' E
Height above sea level: 30 m

Mr Michael Petrakis
Institute of Meteorology and Physics of the AtmosphericEnvironment
National Observatory of Athens
P.O Box 20048GR
11810 Athens, Greece
Tel: +30 1 345 6257, +30 1 346 4566
Fax: +30 1 342 1019
E-mail: mike@env.meteo.noa.gr

Clock Time: GMT+2. Summer time shift (GMT+3), from last Sunday in March,
to Saturday before last Sunday in October.

  1. "Building Construction Regulation - Definition of Natural Lighting Ministerial Degree", M.D. 3046/304/03.02.89, FEK 59 D', Article 2 § 9.

  2. "Building Construction Regulation - Natural Lighting and Ventilation", M.D. 3046/304/03.02.89 FEK 59 D, Article 11, as replaced by 49977/3068/30.06.89, FEK 535 B'.

  3. "Hygiene and Safety of Workers law", n.1568/18.08.85 FEK 177 A', Article 21§3.

  4. "On the suitability of buildings for housing Private Schools", M.D. 112433/06.08.57.

  5. "On the determination of building elements for Private Middle and Lower Professional Schools" M.D. 33606/01.04.72 FEK 254 B' modified by M.D. F.430.6/11/85162/7.10.74 FEK 987 B'.

  6. "On the criteria for Private Institutes for Supporting Lessons", M.D. F.621.32/129/70882/12-24.04.75 FEK 423 B'.

  7. "On the suitability criteria for housing Private Schools of General Education" (Kindergartens-Primary Schools), M.D. ST/13104/05.12.79-29.01.80 FEK 79 B'.

  8. "On the criteria for Private Schools", M.D. F.621.32/175/94284/04.10.85 FEK 1109 B'.

    FEK : Official Newspaper of the Government.
  1. "Climatological Bulletin", National Observatory of Athinai, Institute of Meteorology and Physics of the Atmospheric Environment. It is an annual edition containing meteorological data for Athinai.

  2. "Monthly Meteorological Bulletin", Ministry of National Defense, Air Force HQ, National Meteorological Service (NMS), Direction of Climatology. It is a monthly edition containing meteorological data for 40 meteorological stations.
Greek Technical Chamber (T.E.E.)
Carageorgi Servias 4
P.O. Box 3673
GR 102 48 Athinai
Tel: +30 1 3254590 - 3254599 (10 lines)
Fax: +30 1 3221772

 

More information is available at Amadeus or the Electric Library

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