Most of the winds in the Mediterranean region cannot be relied on to the same extent as the westerly winds at our spots on the North Sea. They either blow periodically throughout the day as thermal winds, with a sea breeze that takes a long time to get going in the morning. Or they make guest appearances as episodic winds, such as the mistral, bora and sirocco.
One honourable exception to this rule is the Aegean Meltemi. In summer, we can rely on it almost as much as on our best friend or girlfriend.
It is part of the summer Etesia, a northern air current that dominates the entire eastern Mediterranean - with the exception of the Turkish Riviera. In ancient times, the Etesia enabled the Greeks to trade with the peoples of Egypt and Asia Minor.
However, windsurfers have to put up with one downer: We only experience cosy, Mediterranean warmth à la Adriatic climate on a few days. The northern origin of the air and the extremely lively wind with the corresponding wind chill effect and many whitecaps make water sports enthusiasts feel like they are on a North Sea beach. On the other hand, we are spoilt by the incredible hours of sunshine and the subtropical sun of the Aegean. A full programme of contrasts - in technical jargon, a stimulating climate par excellence served up by the Meltemi!
Typical weather map
In summer, the west of the Mediterranean comes under the wing of the expanding Azores High, while the air pressure drops over Turkey and the Levant. The lower pressure in the east is not a bad weather low, but an extended thermal low due to the large heating of the land areas of Asia Minor and the Near and Middle East. This large-scale air pressure distribution is stable in summer - which is why the etsy resulting from this large-scale weather situation is very reliable and blows as a steady stream of air from northerly directions. This stable current can also be described as the trade wind of the (eastern) Mediterranean, as the winds reach a consistency of 80 per cent and more in summer.
The Etesian current also dominates in the Aegean, where it is called Meltemi. The term goes back to the Venetian "bel tempo" (good weather).
The air pressure constellation underlying the Etesia and Meltemi is stable throughout the summer, so the wind can usually be relied on from mid-May to October.
Area of action
The Meltemi ventilates the entire Aegean, from the coast of Macedonia and Thrace in the north to the beaches of Rhodes in the south-east, Crete in the south and those of the Peloponnese peninsula. The comparatively strong northerly winds of the Meltemi merge with the somewhat weaker northerly winds of the Etesia to the south-west and south of the Aegean. Southeast of the Aegean Sea, on the other hand - i.e. east of Rhodes and further towards the Turkish Riviera - the northerly winds end rather abruptly. This is because there they fall under the wind cover of the Anatolian highland plateau, quickly weaken and at the same time turn south-west to south.
In the central Aegean in the Cyclades sea area, the Meltemi blows particularly reliably. However, it also repeatedly battered the spots from Andros in the north to Santorini and Anafi in the south with strong gusts of wind that are quite something.
High season
In the winter months, southerly winds alternate with northerly winds. However, these northerly winds are not Meltemi, they are the offshoots of cold air intrusions in the northern and eastern Balkans. Occasionally, westerly and easterly winds also take over.
From mid-May to October, the north winds of the Meltemi are the predominant air current in the Aegean. The high season for the Meltemi, with a frequency of 7o to sometimes over 80 per cent, is the period from the end of June to the end of September. The north is particularly dominant during this period and is not greatly affected by the thermal coastal winds during the day or the tendency towards calm winds at night that is otherwise common in the Mediterranean.
The omnipresence of the Meltemi also characterises the landscape: windmills adorn the hilltops, the few trees are inclined to the south (wind shear). Stone walls not only keep the sheep in check, but also prevent the fields from taking off. Many villages can be found on the sunny southern slopes, which are protected from the Meltemi. And often the alleyways, such as in the Chora of Naxos, are unusually narrow and winding in order to make it more difficult for the wind to enter.
Typical wind and weather conditions
The weather is usually very sunny. Localised showers and thunderstorms only occur when the Meltemi is weak - or when it pauses. These mainly occur on the mainland. A light haze that covers the sky is typical of many Meltemi days in summer.
Newcomers to the Aegean, especially those on north-facing beaches, will be amazed at how cool the air is here - despite the subtropical latitude and strong sun. This is due to the northern origin of the air mass and the addition of cool Black Sea air. The lively wind is also partly responsible, as it causes the upper warm surface layer to mix with cooler deep water via the swell. The water near the surface, cooled in this way, naturally also cools the air. But at least the well-ventilated beaches can reach a pleasant 27 to 30 degrees in midsummer.
In the north of the Aegean, the Meltemi blows from the north-east with an average of three to four Beaufort. In the central south-western and southern sectors of the sea area, it is around four to five from the north. In the south-east sector (Dodecanese archipelago), the Meltemi comes from the west-north-west to north-west and is strongest here at five to six Beaufort. Even though the Meltemi often blows all day, a certain daily rhythm can be recognised - with a maximum from midday into the evening hours.
Amplification factors
Typical of the Meltemi is its pulsation between normal to weaker phases and strong wind phases. The transition from a weaker to a strong wind phase is often quite abrupt. It takes no more than four to six hours to switch from moderate to strong wind mode. Such a strong wind phase usually lasts one to a maximum of three days. If it becomes stormy, shipping in the Aegean comes to a standstill. Then you will only see a few hardy sailors with heavily reefed sails and, of course, the strong-wind surfers with their small cloths. The topographically highly indented island world also provides numerous local speed spots.
Known for jet effects: the straits between Euboea and Andros (Doro Channel), Kea and Kythnos, Paros and Naxos (the jet extends as far as Ios), as well as between Chios and the Çeşme peninsula. With perfect harmony between wind direction and orientation of the strait, wind god Aeolus serves up an encore of two to three Beaufort!
Notorious for its offshore squalls: the bay of Thessaloniki (with strong Meltemi squalls from the Chalkidike Mountains, called Chortiatis), the lee sides of the islands of Kea, Andros, Tinos (Tsiknios is the name of the downslope wind here), Folegandros, Sifnos, Serifos and Ios. Nasty downslope gusts also in the entire archipelago between Naxos and Amorgos, as well as behind steep cliffs on the Turkish coast and the Dodecanese (e.g. south-west and east of Kos). south-west and east of Kos), in some bays in the south of Karpathos (the Mecca of strong wind surfers, especially Devil's Bay - nomen est omen!) and locally on the south coast of Crete (Bay of Ierapetra, Gulf of Mesaras) as well as off Cape Tainaron (Peloponnese peninsula of Mani).
Disruptive factors
In May and October in particular, the Meltemi sometimes has to give way to other weather conditions (in winter anyway). This is when low pressure fronts, some of them thundery, enter the Aegean from the west or north-west. The Meltemi ends just before the fronts arrive and is replaced by southerly winds.
But even in summer, the Meltemi engine sometimes stutters. This is caused by lively low-pressure activity in the direction of northern Italy and the northern Balkans, which temporarily reduces the air pressure contrast over the Aegean and thus weakens the wind.
In the eastern Aegean, especially on the beaches of the Turkish coast, the Meltemi occasionally drops sharply when the large-scale northerly current tends towards the north-east. This is because this region then falls under the wind cover of the Anatolian highlands. The following also applies to mainland coasts: a weakening Meltemi gives its counterpart - the onshore thermal breeze - a boost. On southern coasts, even Meltemi interruptions are possible, and an onshore sea breeze from the south can then prevail, at least from midday to the evening.
Meltemi - the wind guarantee
All parts of the wind special:
- The west wind
- The east wind on the Baltic Sea
- Ora and Vento on Lake Garda
- The foehn in the Alps
- The Meltemi in Greece
- The bora in Croatia
- The sirocco in the central Mediterranean
- The mistral in the south of France
- The Tramontana in the northern Mediterranean
- The Levante in southern Spain
- The trade wind zone
- The roots of the trade winds
- Core trade wind - In the centre of the trade wind
- Passat run-off zone - The end of the Passat
- Interview: Climate researcher Dr Michael Sachweh - "Chasing storms is my passion"
- Windfinder: How wind forecasts are created, the difference between forecast and super-forecast
