Dead animals lie on a road after a forest fire, on the island of Rhodes, Greece. (Image: Associated Press)
Greece is faced with a devastating wildfire coupled with a lengthy spell of extreme heat which has left tourists and locals stranded.
Greece is burning as firefighters are struggling to contain at least 82 wildfires burning across the country. A report by the Guardian said that 64 of these fires started on Sunday.
Sunday, July 23, was the hottest of the summer of 2023 in Greece with temperatures reaching 46.4°C in the seaside town of Gytheio in southern Greece.
Wildfires have broken out on the island of Rhodes, Evia and Corfu with Rhodes highly impacted as 19,000 were forced to free. Karystos, a town in Evia, is now sheltering people from four nearby villages as the wildfire approaches.
Here are the key things you should know about the Greece wildfires:
- The Greek ministry of climate change and civil protection said the emergency on Rhodes triggered “the largest evacuation from a wildfire in the country”, according to a report by the Guardian.
- Police said that 16,000 people were evacuated by land and 3,000 by sea from 12 villages and several hotels.
- UK foreign minister James Cleverly in a tweet said the UK government is “in close contact” with Greek counterparts. He also mentioned that rapid deployment teams from the Red Cross UK and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office are en route to Greece.
- Central Greece vice-governor Giorgos Kelaiditis told Greece’s state-run news agency ANA-MPA that the situation is difficult and despite the fire being away the smoke is thick and the air is hard to breathe.
- At least 2,500 people have been evacuated from the island of Corfu.
- Evacuated locals and tourists, according to the BBC have spent uncomfortable nights. Hotels were booked and cramped and many people who were evacuated did not sleep and those who could get a shuteye slept on mattresses inside school gymnasiums.
- The forecast by the Greek meteorological agencies predict some respite from heat on Monday but temperatures will soar come Tuesday. The weatherman has predicted that it should get significantly cooler on Thursday with temperatures reaching to low or mid-30s.
- The wildfires are likely being caused due to the heatwave Europe is currently experiencing. According to a report by Al Jazeera, climate change, the El Nino weather phenomenon, and the presence of high-pressure anticyclones is intensifying the heatwave as well as the wildfires.
