Early warning systems, before and during the occurrence of extreme weather events, have been deployed by METEO/National Observatory Athens in Athens, Rethymno, Thessaly and Penteli.
The climate services and early warning systems, presented at a workshop co-organized by the Municipality of Athens, the METEO unit of the Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development of the National Observatory of Athens and the Center for the Promotion of Science (CPN) of Serbia, are, it was stressed, an immediate priority in the era of climate crisis, in order to be used to improve preparation for the occurrence of extreme weather phenomena and the protection of citizens and infrastructure.
In particular, as the Director of Research of the National Observatory of Athens, Kostas Lagovardos, reported, monitoring systems with new meteorological stations and specialized weather forecasts have been deployed in the Municipality of Athens and the Municipality of Penteli. In the Municipality of Athens the system includes specialized weather forecasts for heat stress, while in the Municipality of Penteli for forest fires.In addition, in Rethymno a monitoring system has been created that combines existing and new stations with air quality sensors, while 7 new weather stations, 2 level measurement systems and 2 air quality sensors have been installed.
As for Thessaly, an integrated system is being implemented there that combines measurements from a network of meteorological stations measuring river levels and specialised weather forecasts. The system also includes river level forecasting, utilizing Artificial Intelligence techniques.
As Mr. Lagovardos pointed out, the systems that have been developed are based on 4 early warning pillars. The first is knowledge of risk, i.e. identifying and assessing risks at the local level; the second is gathering observations and forecasts through sensor networks, weather radars and numerical weather prediction models; the third is improving preparedness through response planning, training of staff and volunteers; and the fourth is communicating alerts to provide timely and reliable information to citizens, municipalities and regions.
Describing the advantages and strengths of early warning systems, Mr. Lagovardos said that one of them is the unified way of combining all information display. At the same time, he noted that through these systems the preparation before the occurrence of a natural disaster is improved, while through their use they can contribute to the protection of life and property and the infrastructure of a company.As for their weaknesses, Mr. Lagovardos, difficulties are identified in integrating them into the decision-making process, while there is a need to ensure their proper functioning over time.
“We will continue to work by utilizing research, science, technology to provide better products. The most important thing is collaboration and two-way communication. If we don’t move forward together we will not achieve the end result which is to protect ourselves in the context of the climate crisis,” Lagovardos noted, adding that through AI, systems will be able to evolve and improve even further.
For her part, the Director of Research of the National Observatory of Athens Vasiliki Kotroni pointed out that “early warning systems allow: forecasting of dangerous phenomena, timely information of authorities and population and activation of protection plans”, aiming to reduce the risk.
“It is not enough to know the phenomenon; you have to know its consequences. Risk analysis transforms meteorological information into decision-making information. It enables prioritisation and supports prevention and adaptation planning. Risk analysis helps to ensure that interventions are made where the benefit is greatest and leads to targeted projects and measures,” Kotroni noted. She further stressed that warning systems are more effective if you know in advance who is at risk, from what and with what possible consequences.
“Developing and integrating them into the operation of regions and municipalities, as well as organizations that operate infrastructure, is a key priority for climate resilience,” Kotroni stressed.
The need to strengthen the resilience of cities was mentioned by the Deputy Mayor of Civil Protection of the Municipality of Athens, Andreas Grammatikoyannis. He said a change in philosophy is needed, namely to make “a transition from a piecemeal response to a proactive and technologically advanced risk management, enhancing the resilience of the city”.
“In Greece – and particularly in the Attica Basin, where almost half of the population is concentrated – long-standing spatial pathologies (blocked streams, inadequate stormwater networks, etc.) significantly increase vulnerability,” Grammatikoyannis noted, adding that in the Municipality of Athens, prevention is a strategic priority. Furthermore, he referred to three pillars of actions such as strengthening cooperation with the National Observatory of Athens, the development of integrated forecasting and early warning systems and investment in technologies that increase the resilience of the city, while he underlined that the next step is the use of Artificial Intelligence.
For his part, the Climate Compact and Circular Economy Executive Advisor and President of KYADA, Nikos Chrysogelos pointed out that the climate crisis is not a scenario “that we would live in decades from now, but it is a real situation in cities as well”. He noted that specialized tools are needed and added that there is a need to staff civil protection services in municipalities. “Municipalities must have staff and mechanisms that are in a continuous process of dialogue with the actors. There are many interesting research projects, but they need executives who can make use of them,” he said, noting that decisions taken should be based on data and knowledge, but at the same time, he said, there is a need for “policy change” to reduce risks in an area “that depend on how the city develops“. At the same time, Chrysogelos emphasized cooperation between agencies and joint planning, as well as public education.
The use of early warning systems by the Municipality of Penteli was mentioned by the municipality’s strategy and development adviser, Lefteris Maniadakis. He said that for at least two years they have been equipped to a satisfactory degree, utilizing forecasts of the municipality’s and the authorities’ preparedness. “In the summer of 2025 we faced 39 fire outbreaks,” he noted, adding that they are also trying to “build” the part of informing citizens. At the same time, he noted that they are identifying “a problem of conflict of authority with authorities” and added that “decisions on the infrastructure of a municipality need a climate team.”
Talking about the challenges facing the Municipality of Rethymno, the deputy mayor of Civil Protection and Climate Change of the municipality George Skordilis noted that the first ten minutes of response are the most important during an event of either fires, floods or earthquakes. This, he explained, is the positive aspect of early warning systems, “the margin of useful time”.
Skordilis described the requirements that Rethymno has as it is, he said, a municipality that has an area of 397 square kilometers, 47 communities, 101 settlements and is the second largest municipality in Crete in terms of population, with 57,000 inhabitants and a strong seasonality that exceeds 100,000 in the summer, while it has a special geomorphology and urban planning, including 10 streams. At the same time, he said, another issue is that of the transport of Saharan dust, for which they are cooperating with METEO/National Observatory of Athens through the systems installed. In addition, Mr. Skordilis referred to the need for targeted alerts, while he attached particular importance to the cooperation with scientific bodies and the allocation of corresponding resources for specialized human resources.
The Director of Networks of DEDDHE, Panagiotis Liontos, referred to the strengthening of the resilience of the network: “It is a given that we are talking about a climate crisis. All this turns the resilience of the infrastructure network into an operational necessity.In this context, early warning systems and climate services can and are already playing a key role,” he noted, adding that these have the potential to be exploited at specific levels, such as at the level of prevention, preparation, operational response and strategic planning. “The use of forecasts can lead to better orientation of our crews to do more targeted maintenance, inspections. Strengthen critical infrastructure, place crews in certain places where the forecasts indicate that we will have severe weather events so that we can better prepare,” Liontos pointed out, adding that they have developed a METEO/EAA platform to manage and analyse the risk of their infrastructure in relation to climate scenarios and for all natural hazards. “They are also in the process of delivering a six-day early warning system, updated every 12 hours in connection with our own operational centres and with a full mapping of our own network,” he stressed.
“These models and tools can help us channel the resources we have to shield our network more, to move to a more proactive prevention,” he noted.
For his part, Mr. Charis Georgiou from the Hellenic Rescue Team spoke about the potential that early warning systems can provide at the operational level.
“Early warning systems at the operational level solve the immediate and short-term problem of information when a team is in the field, so that they know how to move and what is around them especially during the fire event,” he said, stressing that one issue is the flow of information during operations. “We need common protocols – actions with the Fire Department either for floods or fires. All Fire Services should make a corresponding common protocol that includes the volunteer groups. We also need a common plan and a common way of communication at the operational level. At the same time, there is a need for better utilization of the potential, as well as recording the capabilities of each agency,” Georgiou stressed.
The issue of insurance coverage for natural disasters was addressed by the Chief Actuary of the Interamerican Group, Yannis Totos. Citing some data, Mr. Totos said that in Greece, out of a total of 6.5 million homes, 17%, i.e., about 1.5 million, are insured for natural phenomena, while as far as vehicles are concerned, 50% are insured. “There is a culture of ‘it won’t happen to me’. The home insurance rate is extremely low. In our recent survey, one in two respondents are worried about an earthquake, and one in three are worried about floods and fires,” Totos pointed out. He said there is a need to emphasize and give importance to synergies among all stakeholders to better prepare against the consequences of extreme weather events. “The insurance part is not a luxury, nor something that concerns a few, but a partner in dealing with events,” he said. He even referred to the program developed by the Interamerican Group and the collaboration with the National Observatory of Athens.
