Warm weather lured crowds to beaches and parks on Sunday, despite the coronavirus lockdown in Greece.

Temperatures reached 21°C in Athens, while temperatures also soared in Crete to 26°C.

Police were forced to patrol the beaches and parks to monitor social distancing and crowd numbers.

In Athens, lots of people enjoyed the warm weather in Glyfada, Vouliagmeni and Alimos.

According to the National Observatory of Athens, in the last 50 years, such high temperatures for January have been seen only twice: in 1987 and 2010.

“It is not normal. This time last year it was cold,” Kyriakos Pitoulis told Reuters.

“On the other hand, it helps because people are cooped up at home and they want to go somewhere to let off steam. They cannot stay home all the time.”

Article by: GCT