Scorching weekend ahead as hot weather sets in

Cyprus weather is getting hot again, with weather officials saying temperatures are expected to be at least five degrees above normal levels with dust in the air.

Cyprus weather official Kleanthis Nicolaides, who went live on state radio Friday morning, said a warm air mass is affecting the area through Saturday, adding that weather will be hot with dust in the air.

But the official said Cyprus would not experience a heat wave based on the meteorological definition, which typically requires both high temperatures and high humidity levels.

“In our case, we will have heat wave incidents, perhaps felt by some people for a few hours, but it is not a heat wave phenomenon,” the official said.

Humidity levels in Cyprus are currently not high. However, there will be dust in the air and the public is advised to watch for possible warnings throughout the weekend.

“It is extremely difficult to assess the dust load in advance in our area, so we can only give a qualitative estimate at the moment,” Nicolaides said.

Weather forecast

Friday weather will be mostly clear with relatively calm seas. Maximum temperatures are expected to reach 39° Celsius inland, 33° out west and in northern parts, 36° in all other coastal regions, and 29° up in the highest elevations on the mountains.

The evening will remain mostly clear with calm seas developing to relatively calm waters later on. Minimum temperatures are expected to drop to 23° Celsius inland and all around the coast, while it will be as low as 19° up in the mountains.

From heat to rain drops

Saturday will be the hottest day of the weekend, with a slight increase in temperature and moderate levels of dust in the air.

Sunday will be mostly clear with high temperatures starting to recede, while they are expected to drop further by Monday, when there will be cloudy skies with a chance of isolated rain showers.