Fires erupt near Athens as Greece battles intense wildfire season

Published June 30, 2024
A helicopter sprays water above a wildfire at Mount Parnitha near Athens, on June 29. — AFP
A helicopter sprays water above a wildfire at Mount Parnitha near Athens, on June 29. — AFP

ATHENS: A wildfire ignited on Saturday afternoon in a forest area north of Athens, amid heightened fire risk across six Greek regions.

At least forty wildfires have erupted since dawn across the country with wind speeds exceeding 100 kilometres per hour, according to fire brigade sources.

“In general, the conditions that prevail are difficult and dangerous,” Fire Department spokesperson Vasilis Vathrakogiannis told an emergency press briefing on Saturday.

Accustomed to scorching summers, Greece faces a tough wildfire season after its warmest winter and earliest heatwave on record, with temperatures hitting 44°C.

Strong winds and numerous high-voltage pylons in the area of Mount Parnitha — known as “the lungs of Athens” — are impeding the use of firefighting aircraft.

Reinforcements from the regions of Thessaly, Epirus, and Central Macedonia, as well as volunteer firefighters, are helping to tackle the forest fires. The winds have carried smoke into the centre of Athens while a message was sent to people in nearby areas via the emergency number 112 to be on standby due to the fire.

Published in Dawn, June 30th, 2024

Opinion

Editorial

Trump 2.0
Updated 07 Nov, 2024

Trump 2.0

It remains to be seen how his promises to bring ‘peace’ to Middle East reconcile with his blatantly pro-Israel bias.
Fait accompli
07 Nov, 2024

Fait accompli

A SLEW of secretively conceived and hastily enacted legislation has achieved its intended result: the powers of the...
IPP contracts
07 Nov, 2024

IPP contracts

THE government expects the ongoing ‘negotiations’ with power producers aimed at revising the terms of sovereign...
Rushed legislation
Updated 06 Nov, 2024

Rushed legislation

For all its stress on "supremacy of parliament", the ruling coalition has wasted no opportunity to reiterate where its allegiances truly lie.
Jail reform policy
06 Nov, 2024

Jail reform policy

THE state is making a fresh attempt to improve conditions in Pakistan’s penitentiaries by developing a national...
BISP overhaul
06 Nov, 2024

BISP overhaul

IT has emerged that the spouses of over 28,500 Sindh government employees have been illicitly benefiting from BISP....