Cyprus is set to see its hottest October day ever recorded on Wednesday with the Met Office issuing a yellow warning for extreme heat conditions.
Despite winter looming, Cyprus is still sweltering under summer-like weather as maximum temperatures reach 40 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, flirting with the highest temperature ever recorded in October.
In comments to the Financial Mirror head of the Met office, Kleanthis Nicolaides said that maximum temperatures on Wednesday will definitely be around 40°C, coming dangerously close to beating the previous record of 40.6°C recorded on both 2 and 3 October 1943.
Wednesday’s temperatures are expected to be the highest ever recorded at the newer Athalassa station, surpassing the previous high just on Tuesday
The highest temperature for October was recorded at the Nicosia meteorology station on Tuesday when temperatures hit 38.5°C.
Nicolaides said Cyprus is witnessing “August-like conditions” with no sign of when things will change.
“Cyprus will definitely be cooler as of Thursday, but temperatures will remain around 36°C, well above the average 30°C for the season.”
He noted that Cyprus weather over the past few months has significantly deviated from seasonal norms, breaking every record with the first few days of October being well above the average maximum of 31°C for the season.
Nicolaides said this is a result of a high-pressure system, pushing temperatures up.
“It is an unusual phenomenon for the season. Taking into consideration that October’s first 10 days are record high temperatures, coming after the three previous months marked the highest temperatures on record, the phenomena should be looked through the scope of climate change”.
Previously, experts told the Financial Mirror that Cyprus ıs feeling the impact of global warming witnessing extreme climate conditions, unpredictable weather patterns, floods, unseasonal pressure systems, fires, extreme heat and cold.
September, apart from marking the hottest day recorded in Cyprus with temperatures reaching 46.2°C in Nicosia on 4 September, it also had the highest average temperatures for the month.
The average daily maximum temperature for September was 38.2°C, the previous highest average recorded in 2018 was 36.3°C.
Cyprus had already witnessed its hottest July and August on record.
In July, Cyprus saw daily maximum temperatures reaching or exceeding 40 degrees Celsius more times (17) than in any other July since 1983, and the second hottest day on record at 44.6°C.
The average daily maximum temperature in July was 39.7°C with the island experiencing a series of week-long heatwaves.
August had 12 days of temperatures equal or above 40°C, which is a record for the month, and the third hottest day ever was 44.5°C on 31 August.
Average daily temperatures for August reached an unprecedented 39.5°C.
