Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Monday that Greece is bracing for a dangerous summer in terms of wildfires, as the country faces a prolonged drought and particularly strong winds.
Wildfires are common in the Mediterranean country, but they are more devastating in nature since summers have become hotter and drier, a phenomenon that scientists attribute to climate change.
Last weekend, several dozen fires broke out in Greece, including two near Athens.
“The summer promises to be particularly dangerous (…) the hardest part is still ahead of us,” declared the Prime Minister to his cabinet.
“We experienced a very difficult month of June in terms of weather conditions, with a strong drought and unusually strong wind gusts for the season,” he added, while congratulating the firefighters for having managed to contain weekend fires.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis said less than 100,000 square meters of land had burned during the two fires, with the intervention of state emergency services helping to limit the damage.
To be better prepared, Greece hired more staff and offered more training. Last year, forest fires forced 19,000 people to flee the island of Rhodes and left 20 dead in the north of the country.
“Our arsenal may be more powerful, but nothing – and this is seen in practice – is worth the preparation and involvement of the public in this collective defense against natural risks,” the Prime Minister said.
(Reporting Renee Maltezou and Michele Kambas; French version Pauline Foret, editing by Kate Entringer)
