Η ΚΛΙΜΑΤΙΚΗ ΑΛΛΑΓΗ

Climatic change and its effects on the region of Kalampaka.

1^st High School of Kalampaka

Class B2

The weather has gone crazy!!!

During the past years, we have experienced heavy rain, heat waves, raging fires, unusually mild winters and almost no spring and autumn!!!!

Well, then, it’s certain that Nature has lost her mind, and the climate is suffering a nervous breakdown….

But, what does climate mean and what is the climate change?

Climate means the meteorological phenomena (temperature, rainfall, atmospheric pressure, wind, humidity) that prevail in a region for a period of over 30 years. In other words, it is the average meteorological conditions of this area.

Some people confuse the word climate with weather. They think they are used to describe the same thing. Yet, the word weather refers to the meteorological conditions of every single day.

Climate change is about the major changes of the meteorological conditions of an area over a long period and their effects. Such changes include:

the rise of the Earth’s temperature resulting in the greenhouse effect as well as mild winters and really hot summers;
the melting of the ice at the Poles resulting in the rising of the sea level;
heavy rainfall, severe droughts and heat waves resulting in the degradation of water quality and coastal erosion and
typhoons becoming more intense.

In the last years, extreme weather conditions are very common in our area due to the climate change. Of course, they have serious consequences.

On the evening of 16 January 2016, the water level of the Pineios River had gone up and it was rushing down like never before. As a result, the Diava Βridge, which is just outside the town of Kalampaka, collapsed.

The collapse of the bridge was the result of harsh weather, heavy rainfall and flooding.

There was also heavy rain on the mountainous area around Kalampaka in the winter of 2017. A lot of streams flooded, there were landslides and the level of the Pineios River and its tributaries rose unexpectedly.

In the surrounding villages, houses flooded, farm houses, warehouses, barns and grapevines were completely destroyed, crops were covered with water and hens, ducks and geese drowned.

Even the 4^th Primary School of Kalampaka flooded and it was closed for days until it was repaired.

In the region of the Meteora, near the Holy Monastery of Rousanou, there was a rock fall which blocked the road. The Huge rock fell because of the heavy rainfall in the previous days.There was another landslide near the kiosks and the canteen outside the Holy Monastery of Varlaam.