Editing Crete (section)

===Climate===
{{Main|Climate of Greece}}
Crete straddles two climatic zones, the [[Mediterranean climate|Mediterranean]] and the [[semi-arid climate]], mainly falling within the former. As such, the climate in Crete is primarily a [[hot-summer mediterranean|hot-summer Mediterranean]] (''Csa'') climate while some areas in the [[Lentas#Climate|south]] and east have a [[hot semi-arid climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification]]: ''BSh''). The higher elevations fall into the warm-summer [[Mediterranean climate]] category (''Csb'')<ref>{{Cite web |title=Latest Conditions in Xyloskalo, Chania, Crete Island |url=https://penteli.meteo.gr/stations/samaria/ |access-date=2023-07-03 |website=penteli.meteo.gr}}</ref> while the mountain peaks (>2,000 meters) might feature a cold-summer [[Mediterranean climate]] (''Csc'') or a [[continental climate]] (''Dfb'' or ''Dfc''). The atmosphere can be quite humid, depending on the proximity to the sea, while winter is fairly mild. Snowfall is common on the mountains between November and May, but rare in the low-lying areas.

[[File:Flag harbour Chania Crete Greece.jpg|thumb|250px|Flag harbour Chania, Crete, Greece]]
The south coast, including the [[Mesara Plain]] and [[Asterousia Mountains]], falls in the North African climatic zone, enjoying significantly more sunny days and high temperatures throughout the year. There, [[date palm]]s bear fruit, and [[Swallow (bird)|swallows]] remain year-round rather than migrate to [[Africa]]. The fertile region around [[Ierapetra]], on the southeastern corner of the island, has year-round agricultural production, with summer vegetables and fruit produced in [[greenhouse]]s throughout the winter.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rackham |first1=O |last2=Moody |first2=J |year=1996 |title=The Making of the Cretan Landscape |publisher=Manchester University Press |isbn=9780719036477 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k4dHmA9jq4wC}}</ref> Western Crete (Chania province) receives more rain and the soils there suffer more erosion compared to the Eastern part of Crete.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Panagos|first1=Panagos|last2=Christos|first2=Karydas|last3=Cristiano|first3=Ballabio|last4=Ioannis|first4=Gitas|title=Seasonal monitoring of soil erosion at regional scale: An application of the G2 model in Crete focusing on agricultural land uses|journal=International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation|volume=27|pages=147–155|doi=10.1016/j.jag.2013.09.012|year=2014|bibcode=2014IJAEO..27..147P}}</ref>

Average annual temperatures reach up to 21.6&nbsp;°C in [[Psari Forada]] which is located in South Crete. Crete holds the record for the highest temperatures ever recorded in [[Europe]] during October, November, January and February from [[World Meteorological Organization]] stations.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://meteo.gr/article_view.cfm?entryID=2999 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231105083816/https://meteo.gr/article_view.cfm?entryID=2999 | archive-date=5 November 2023 | title=Meteo.gr: Πανευρωπαϊκό ρεκόρ θερμοκρασιών οι 35 βαθμοί στην Κρήτη το Σάββατο 04/11 - Μεγάλο πλήθος και διασπορά φαινομένων στη χώρα }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://e-kairos.gr/records/resultsmax.php | title=Greek weather records - Temperature and precipitation records in Greece }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.meteo.gr/article_view.cfm?entryID=1591|title = Meteo.gr: Τα δύο ακραία πρόσωπα του καιρού στην Ευρώπη το Σ/Κ 9-10 Ιανουαρίου 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://penteli.meteo.gr/stations/vrysses/NOAAYR.TXT | title=32.1C February record Vryses NOA | publisher=[[National Observatory of Athens]] | access-date=14 February 2024 | archive-date=23 February 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100223061409/http://penteli.meteo.gr/stations/vrysses/NOAAYR.TXT | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://stratus.meteo.noa.gr/data/bulletins/deltio_noa022010.pdf | title=NOA February 2010 climate bulletins | publisher=[[National Observatory of Athens]] | access-date=14 February 2024}}</ref> According to the [[Hellenic National Meteorological Service]], South Crete receives the most sunshine in [[Greece]] with more than 3,257 hours of sunshine per year.<ref name="Climatic Atlas of Greece">{{cite web | url=http://climatlas.hnms.gr/sdi/ | title=Climatic Atlas of Greece | publisher=[[Hellenic National Meteorological Service]] | access-date=4 August 2022}}</ref>

{{Weather box
| location = Heraklion 1955–2010 ([[HNMS]])
| metric first = yes
|width = 70%
| single line = yes
| Jan record high C = 29.9
| Feb record high C = 28.8
| Mar record high C = 34.0
| Apr record high C = 37.5
| May record high C = 38.0
| Jun record high C = 41.3
| Jul record high C = 43.6
| Aug record high C = 44.5
| Sep record high C = 39.5
| Oct record high C = 37.0
| Nov record high C = 32.8
| Dec record high C = 28.5
| Jan high C = 15.3
| Feb high C = 15.5
| Mar high C = 17.0
| Apr high C = 20.1
| May high C = 23.6
| Jun high C = 27.3
| Jul high C = 28.9
| Aug high C = 28.8
| Sep high C = 26.6
| Oct high C = 23.6
| Nov high C = 20.2
| Dec high C = 17.1
| year high C = 
| Jan mean C = 12.1
| Feb mean C = 12.2
| Mar mean C = 13.6
| Apr mean C = 16.6
| May mean C = 20.4
| Jun mean C = 24.5
| Jul mean C = 26.4
| Aug mean C = 26.3
| Sep mean C = 23.7
| Oct mean C = 20.3
| Nov mean C = 16.8
| Dec mean C = 13.8
| year mean C = 
| Jan low C = 9.1
| Feb low C = 8.9
| Mar low C = 9.8
| Apr low C = 12.0
| May low C = 15.1
| Jun low C = 19.2
| Jul low C = 21.9
| Aug low C = 22.0
| Sep low C = 19.5
| Oct low C = 16.7
| Nov low C = 13.5
| Dec low C = 10.9
| year low C = 
| Jan record low C = 0.0
| Feb record low C = -0.8
| Mar record low C = 0.3
| Apr record low C = 4.2
| May record low C = 6.0
| Jun record low C = 12.2
| Jul record low C = 14.5
| Aug record low C = 16.6
| Sep record low C = 12.0
| Oct record low C = 8.7
| Nov record low C = 4.2
| Dec record low C = 2.4
| rain colour = green
| Jan rain mm = 91.0
| Feb rain mm = 69.0
| Mar rain mm = 53.4
| Apr rain mm = 28.2
| May rain mm = 13.4
| Jun rain mm = 2.9
| Jul rain mm = 0.8
| Aug rain mm = 0.9
| Sep rain mm = 16.7
| Oct rain mm = 59.4
| Nov rain mm = 59.6
| Dec rain mm = 85.6
| Jan rain days = 16.0
| Feb rain days = 13.6
| Mar rain days = 11.4
| Apr rain days = 7.6
| May rain days = 4.6
| Jun rain days = 1.3
| Jul rain days = 0.3
| Aug rain days = 0.5
| Sep rain days = 2.8
| Oct rain days = 7.5
| Nov rain days = 10.6
| Dec rain days = 15.2
| year rain days = 
| Jan humidity = 68.4
| Feb humidity = 66.4
| Mar humidity = 65.9
| Apr humidity = 62.3
| May humidity = 61.2
| Jun humidity = 57.0
| Jul humidity = 57.1
| Aug humidity = 59.1
| Sep humidity = 61.9
| Oct humidity = 65.7
| Nov humidity = 67.9
| Dec humidity = 68.3
| year humidity = 
| Jan sun = 119.9
| Feb sun = 132.3
| Mar sun = 181.5
| Apr sun = 234.8
| May sun = 298.5
| Jun sun = 356.2
| Jul sun = 368.3
| Aug sun = 343.5
| Sep sun = 275.8
| Oct sun = 206.9
| Nov sun = 145.5
| Dec sun = 115.4
| source 1 = [[HNMS]]<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.hnms.gr/emy/en/climatology/climatology_city?perifereia=Crete&poli=Heraklion
|title = Climatic Data for selected stations in Greece: Heraklion (Crete)
|access-date = 17 September 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Climate Atlas of Greece (for sunshine 1977-2002) |url=http://climatlas.hnms.gr/sdi/?lang=EN |publisher=[[HNMS]] |access-date=20 July 2021}}</ref>
| source 2 = meteo-climat (extremes)<ref name= meteo-climat>{{cite web
  |url = http://meteo-climat-bzh.dyndns.org/station-530-Heraklion.php
  |title= STATION HERAKLION
  |publisher = meteo-climat
  |access-date = December 2, 2018}}</ref>
| date = December 2018
| source = 
}}

{{Weather box
|width = 70%
|location= [[Lentas]] 
|metric first=yes
|single line=yes
|Jan high C=16.3
|Feb high C=16.7
|Mar high C=17.9
|Apr high C=21.3
|May high C=24.8
|Jun high C=29.0
|Jul high C=33.0
|Aug high C=32.8
|Sep high C=29.7
|Oct high C=25.7
|Nov high C=22.0
|Dec high C=18.2

|Jan mean C=13.8
|Feb mean C=14.1
|Mar mean C=15.2
|Apr mean C=18.2
|May mean C=21.6
|Jun mean C=25.6
|Jul mean C=29.4
|Aug mean C=29.4
|Sep mean C=26.6
|Oct mean C=22.9
|Nov mean C=19.4
|Dec mean C=15.8

|Jan low C=11.3
|Feb low C=11.6
|Mar low C=12.4
|Apr low C=15.1
|May low C=18.3
|Jun low C=22.2
|Jul low C=25.8
|Aug low C=26.1
|Sep low C=23.5
|Oct low C=20.0
|Nov low C=16.9
|Dec low C=13.3

|Jan record high C  = 21.9
|Feb record high C  = 25.2
|Mar record high C  = 24.2
|Apr record high C  = 29.7
|May record high C  = 36.7
|Jun record high C  = 39.6
|Jul record high C  = 43.3
|Aug record high C  = 42.7
|Sep record high C  = 36.7
|Oct record high C  = 33.2
|Nov record high C  = 27.2
|Dec record high C  = 23.3
|Jan record low C   = 2.3
|Feb record low C   = 2.3
|Mar record low C   = 3.9
|Apr record low C   = 7.8
|May record low C   = 12.8
|Jun record low C   = 16.3
|Jul record low C   = 20.8
|Aug record low C   = 22.3
|Sep record low C   = 15.2
|Oct record low C   = 14.3
|Nov record low C   = 10.2
|Dec record low C   = 5.3

|rain colour = green
|Jan rain mm=82.2
|Feb rain mm=61.7
|Mar rain mm=41.1
|Apr rain mm=13.6
|May rain mm=8.8
|Jun rain mm=5.4
|Jul rain mm=0.1
|Aug rain mm=1.1
|Sep rain mm=10.3
|Oct rain mm=30.2
|Nov rain mm=45.1
|Dec rain mm=61.0
|source 1 = [[National Observatory of Athens]] Monthly Bulletins (Dec 2011-Jan 2024)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.meteo.gr/Monthly_Bulletins.cfm|title=Monthly Bulletins|website=www.meteo.gr}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://penteli.meteo.gr/stations/lentas/ | title=Latest Conditions in Lentas, Crete }}</ref> and [[World Meteorological Organization]]<ref name="WMO">{{cite web | url=https://oscar.wmo.int/surface/#/search/station/stationReportDetails/0-300-1-lentas | title=World Meteorological Organization | access-date=14 July 2023}}</ref>
}}