This year's summer isn't hotter than previous years, according to met officer

This year's summer is not hotter compared with previous ones, Senior Meteorological Officer, Michalis Mouskos told CNA on Wednesday.

In response to a question by CNA on whether the frequency of high temperatures has increased in Cyprus compared with previous years, Mouskos said that heatwaves are a combination of three parameters, namely temperature, humidity and wind, and specified that the met office issues yellow warnings for high temperatures, not heatwaves.

As regards this summer, “we haven't seen the very high temperatures that we've seen in previous years, which was over 42-43 degrees Celsius," Mouskos said.

He added, that excluding the last few days, during which, an increased level of discomfort was being experienced due to all three aforementioned factors, “we have been experiencing a mild summer with temperatures close to the seasonal average”. Mouskos noted that, in general, the summer in Cyprus is particularly hot while the period between mid-July and mid-August is the hottest of the year in Cyprus.

"Compared to previous summers, we cannot say that this summer is particularly hot or that there’s something that we have not seen before," the Senior Meteorological Officer reiterated, adding that in previous years, apart from the three summer months, very high temperatures had been observed in May as well.

On whether climate change is noticeable in Cyprus, Mouskos said that it is not particularly noticeable since the Cyprus summer is dry anyway. He added that one should examine a period of 20-30 years, not just two or three, to see the climatological trend.

According to Mouskos, this summer is not as responsive to climate change as previous ones, "but that does not mean we have escaped climate change," he said, adding that in the future, "we should expect higher temperatures for longer periods." However, he said, this is not what we are seeing this year.

Mouskos said, however, that the combination of high temperatures and high humidity should be of concern because there is an increased possibility of heatstroke especially in the vulnerable groups of the population and especially during the hours where high temperatures are recorded. He urged members of the public to pay heed to the advice of experts and take all necessary measures for their protection.