(Athens) Several archaeological sites in Greece, including the Acropolis of Athens, closed during the hottest hours of the day on Thursday, according to the Culture Ministry, as the first wave of scorching days of the year was expected to “peak” later in the day.
For the second day in a row, tourists could not visit the Parthenon and other ancient masterpieces atop the Acropolis between 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. local time (9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Eastern Time), it said the Greek Ministry of Culture.
The weather service predicted 41°C-42°C for Thursday in the Greek capital and its Attica region, and even 43°C locally.
However, by midday, the thermometer read 37°C in Athens, according to the Poseidon System website.
“As part of protection measures against the dangers” arising from the heat, several archaeological sites in Crete, the Dodecanese, the Cyclades, the Peloponnese are also closed during the hottest hours, according to the same source.
Other world-famous sites, such as Delphi, Olympia or Knossos, remain open without interruption, the ministry said.
Greece, a Mediterranean country accustomed to heatwaves, has been experiencing intense heat for several days with a “peak” of 43°C expected this Thursday in the Peloponnese and central Greece, according to the national meteorological service (EMY).
The risk of fire is “very high” in eight regions, the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection warned on Wednesday.
However, temperatures should drop again from Friday.
The partial closure of the Acropolis has left some tourists disappointed. “I tried to look for information, fortunately there were the police who told us it was because of the heatwave,” Massimo Martina, an Italian art dealer who was visiting on Wednesday. “We will probably try to come early (tomorrow) morning and I hope we can” get in, he added.
The Acropolis of Athens, the most visited site in Greece with nearly 4 million visitors in 2023, had already had to close its doors in July 2023 during a two-week heatwave, unprecedented in its duration. Greece was then hit by devastating fires that destroyed 175,000 hectares.
