Athens wildfire rages in hot, arid suburbs
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Firefighters attempt to control a wildfire in Dionysos, Greece, on Monday. Photo: Nick Paleologos/Bloomberg via Getty Images
A deadly wildfire burning in an increasingly hot and arid Greece has expanded into suburbs ringing parts of Athens, as firefighters from multiple countries battle extreme heat and high winds to extinguish the flames.
Threat level: Greece is having one of its hottest and driest summers on record at the same time as climate change is favoring more frequent, severe and long-lasting heat waves and drought in the southern Mediterranean.
- The blaze, which began in the town of Varnavas on Sunday, has reportedly killed at least one person as it has swept through parched forests and into communities to the north of the nation's capital.
- Smoke has blocked out the sun at times in Athens, casting an orange tinge over the marble ruins of ancient Greece.
- Thousands of residents have been evacuated in the face of oncoming flames, and an unknown number of structures have been destroyed.
- Calmer winds early Tuesday allowed firefighters to make progress in containing the blaze, according to the Associated Press.
Zoom in: Temperatures climbing above 100°F each day and dry, gusty winds to at least 40mph — coupled with the underlying drought conditions — have made firefighting difficult, and still threaten to cause the fire to advance in some areas.
- Other EU nations are sending firefighting assets to help Greece battle the blaze, a display of mutual aid that has become common in recent years as fast-moving blazes have torn through Greece, Spain, Portugal and other parts of southern Europe.
- "We stand with Greece as it battles devastating fires," European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said on X on Monday, noting firefighting assets would be deployed from Italy, France, Romania and the Czech Republic.
The big picture: Greece is likely to record its hottest summer on record, after seeing its hottest June and July.
- The heat, plus drier than average conditions have primed vegetation for fire.
- Greece is one of the fastest-warming countries on the fastest-warming continent. Europe has been warming at about twice the rate of other continents around the world.
Climate models have long shown that as the planet warms, southern Europe, including Greece, parts of Italy, southern France, Spain and Portugal, would become hotter and drier, with more frequent and severe droughts.
- This boosts wildfire risks and can transform these regions in more fundamental ways, from the food and wine they grow to their suitability as summer tourist destinations.
Between the lines: A searing heat wave earlier this summer spotlighted the changing climate's threat to Greece's summer tourism industry, and the country was the site of the EU's largest wildfire on record just last summer.
- Greece, along with other Mediterranean countries susceptible to similar climate change impacts, may need new strategies to head off wildfire crisis situations like the one currently unfolding.
