Temperature variability over Greece: Links between space and time

1. Abstract Temperature is strongly linked to the hydrological cycle in numerous ways and mainly with the evapotranspiration. Our aim here is to examine the possible influence of spatial characteristics on the temperature temporal variability of the monthly absolute maxima/minima and the monthly means over Greece. To achieve this, the temperature records of the Hellenic National Meteorological Service station network, which date back to 1950, are analysed. The analysis involved two steps: the determination of regions with similar climatic properties and the investigation of the possible correlations of temperature in time. Thus, the time series are classified in three groups based on their location (continental, coastal and island) and four types regarding the proximity of the station to a city (at the city centre, near the city border, far away from city border) or to an airport. Each one of the time series is then examined for (a) the influence of the city heat island as Greek cities expanded in time, (b) the effect of the general atmospheric circulation (NAO phase), (c) its correlation to the global temperature record and (d) the implied change on evapotranspiration in the area.