Cyprus Department of Meteorology: heat above 40°C will return in the second half of summer

Andreas Chrysantou, an officer at the Department of Meteorology and Climatology, said that Cyprus is facing a traditionally hot and dry summer without extreme climate anomalies. Periodic summer showers and thunderstorms observed in June 2026 are a normal seasonal phenomenon of atmospheric instability, typical of the island’s inland and mountainous areas, especially the Mesaoria Plain. This instability will continue until Tuesday, June 23, after which the weather will clear from Wednesday. Thanks to abundant rainfall that began in December 2025, the soil across the island is well saturated with moisture, which is currently effectively limiting the outbreak and rapid spread of forest fires.

June is ending slightly above seasonal norms: with average long-term values of 33–34°C for inland areas, this month will close with an average temperature of around 37°C due to the pronounced warming in the second half of June. The return of stable 40-degree heat is forecast for the period from mid-July to mid-August. During this driest stretch of the year, air humidity will drop sharply, which will completely eliminate the chance of precipitation and increase the fire danger. At the same time, forecasters note that the current outlook looks moderate compared with the records of recent years, such as the extreme summers of 2024 and 2025, with peak temperatures of up to 46.1°C in Lefkara and large-scale wildfires.