In Greece, forest fires continue to spread and are getting closer to Athens

The fire is approaching Athens. The Greek civil protection ordered on Monday 12 August the evacuation of new localities in the north-eastern suburbs of the capital, after that of the city of Marathon and eight villages the day before, in the face of a violent fire that started on Sunday.

“The civil protection forces fought all night and, despite superhuman efforts, the fire continues to spread very quickly and is heading towards Penteli”about fifteen kilometers northeast of Athens, explained Vassilis Vathrakogiannis, spokesman for the fire brigade, during a press briefing on Monday morning.

“We are facing a biblical catastrophe. Our entire municipality is engulfed in flames and is experiencing difficult times.”Marathon Mayor Stergios Tsirkas told Skai TV. According to public broadcaster ERT, the fire front is now over thirty kilometers long, with some flames reaching over twenty-five meters high.

Six hundred and seventy firefighters and 183 vehicles have been deployed. Thirty-two planes have been flying over the area since daybreak, said Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias. “The winds are still 7 on the Beaufort scale today. (…) Despite a rapid intervention yesterday in just seven minutes, we were unable to control the fire.”the minister also noted.

The fires prompted Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to cut short his holiday and return to Athens on Sunday evening.

Smoke covers part of Athens

By Sunday afternoon, firefighters had managed to control thirty-three of the forty fires that had broken out in the past twenty-four hours. But the fire continued to spread amid a warning of extreme weather conditions for the rest of the week. And smoke is now covering part of Athens.

At least five more towns were evacuated early Monday morning, as well as two hospitals, one pediatric and one military, in Penteli. Twenty-nine children were moved to Athenian hospitals. Greek authorities opened the OAKA Olympic stadium in northern Athens to accommodate the thousands of displaced people.

Vassilis Kikilias had warned on Saturday that half of the country was at high risk of fires until at least August 15 due to high temperatures, gusty winds and drought.

Greece is particularly vulnerable to wildfires this summer, after a particularly dry winter. June and July were the hottest months since records began in 1960. Temperatures of 39°C and winds exceeding 50 km/h are still expected in the region on Monday, according to the weather service.

Scientists warn that fossil fuel emissions are worsening the duration, frequency and intensity of heatwaves around the world. Rising temperatures are leading to longer wildfire seasons and more area burned by wildfires worldwide, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.