Climate, Earthquakes and Tsunamis on Crete





Climate Crete

Weather forecast for Crete and Athens



Crete is the southernmost and biggest of the Greek islands. The climate is a few degrees warmer than the mainland and other islands. Gavdos, one of Crete’s satellites, lays claim to being the southernmost place in Europe.

The short winter (January to February): is similar to British weather in September; there are a few warm days with temperature over 18 degrees, but many more rainy days with temperatures of 8-15 degrees. The sea temperature is generally 15 degrees.

Spring (March – May): The weather in these months gets warmer and warmer, and the frequency of rainfalls dwindles. In March the average daytime temperature is 20 degrees, going up to 26 degrees in May. This is a great time to go to Crete for a walking or cycling holiday; the island is a deep shade of green with flowers all over. The sea remains fairly chilly until May.

No hotel on Crete yet?

There are thousands hotels and other accommodations on Crete. In our opinion the best overview is at Booking.com. You can sort accommodations by price or display only accommodations in certain cities. The hotels can be booked quickly and easily on Booking.com, there are also many holiday apartments.

Summer (June – September): There is almost no rain; the sky is blue and rarely bothered by clouds. Days where the temperature drops below 28 degrees are rare, and many days are over 35 degrees. Sea temperature in these months is over 25 degrees, and pleasant for swimming.

Autumn (October – December): winter sees many warm days. Some days in December it is possible to go to the beach with temperatures around 22 degrees and the sea temperature is still pretty warm at 18 degrees. There are more and more rainy days, transforming the brown, desert-like landscape slowly into a green one.

Important tickets for Crete

Some tickets for Crete can be bought in advance on the Internet. This improves the planning of your holiday and saves time as you don't have to queue up at the ticket offices or search for ticket sales points on Crete. Tickets for the 3 most important sights on Crete:

1. Excavation of Knossos, often long queues at the cash desk: tickets Click here

2. A good overview of bus tours to the famous Samaria Gorge, which can be booked online: Click here

3. Former leprosy island of Spinalonga. Various tickets, ferries, tours: Click here

See also: Many other tickets, excursions on Crete: Tickets Crete

Map of Crete


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Earthquakes and Tsunamis on Crete

Crete, like many other parts of Greece, is in an earthquake zone. The Minoans endured some catastrophic earthquakes: circa 1700BC an earthquake destroyed nearly every building on the island, and suffered the same fate barely 300 years later – this time the explosion in Santorini is suspected to be the culprit. The eruption of the island sparked a gigantic earthquake and enormous tsunami. Some historians believe the wave to have been 200m high. Contrasting this with the Asian tsunami some years ago, which was ‘only’ 10m high, there’s little surprise that Crete was totally destroyed, bar the mountain areas. Unsurprisingly, people refused to live next to the sea for centuries after this.



Today, Cretan authorities have made strict laws on how to build earthquake-proof homes, but many are still afraid. Until the Asian tsunami at Christmas in 2004, many experts believed tsunamis weren’t possible in the Mediterranean Sea or the Indian Ocean. Shortly after the catastrophe, many politicians in Athens promised to spend money on implementing an early warning system. To my knowledge, this never went any further than talks.

 

The climate in other regions: Klima Guatemala  Wetter Irland  Klima Kanaren   Klima Kambodscha  Climate Mallorca   Klima Mallorca    

 

Crete Guide
 
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PLACES
Eastern Crete
Ierapetra
Keratokambos
Mirtos
Sitia
Vai
Agios Nikolaos
 Voulismeni Lake
 Agios Nikolaos Beach
 Agios Nikolaos Tours
Gournia Crete
Kritsa
Elounda
Spinalonga
Amazonas Park
Neapoli
Xerokambos
Zakros
Central Crete
Iraklio
  Historical Museum
Knossos
Hersonissos
  Zoo Hersonissos
  Museum Hersonissos
Koutouloufari
Piskopiano
Gouves
  Aquarium Crete
  Dinosauria Park
Malia
Stalida
Karteros
Milatos
Sissi
Rethymno
 Rethymno Fortezza
 Rethymno Museum
 Rethymno Beach
Platanes
Panormo
Melidoni Cave
Bali
Agia Pelagia
Fodele
Moni Arkadi
Georgioupolis
Armeni Tombs
Plakias
Mirthios
Sellia
Lefkogia
Damnoni
Preveli
Argiroupoli
Spili
St Antonios Gorge
Agia Galini
Matala
Kalamaki
Pitsidia
Phaistos
Gortys Crete
Zaros
Lendas
Western Crete
Chania
 Football Museum
 Maritme Museum
 Chania Lighthouse
Platanias
Agia Marina
Kolymbari
Kissamos
Agia Triada Crete
Stavros
Kalives
Falassarna
Elafonisi
Paleochora
Sougia
Agia Irini Gorge
Samaria Gorge
White Mountains
Aradena Gorge
Botanic Garden Crete
Lakki
Omalos
Imbros Gorge
Frangokastello
Anopolis Crete
Chora Sfakia