Tourists and labourers seek respite as Greece and Balkans gripped by heatwave
The heatwave will continue until Sunday, the Greek meteorological service said. Scorching heat also gripped neighbouring Bulgaria on Tuesday, with authorities urging businesses to give away water and cut physical labour during high-risk hours.
In Montenegro major roads were congested as many rushed to beaches to find relief from the heat. In Albania, firefighters assisted by four aircraft from Italy and Greece battled two wildfires at a national park in the north and near the southwestern village of Dukat.
Last month, large parts of Western Europe sweltered in another severe heatwave that left many dead and triggered forest fires and health alerts across the region. Across the globe, 2024 was the warmest year on record, with temperatures exceeding 1.5°C above the pre-industrial era for the first time. Research published last week showed the soil surface temperature around Athens rose in some places by as much as 10°C since July 2024 after fires destroyed vegetation.
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Time Magazine
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- Time Magazine
Firefighters In ‘Titanic Battle' As Wildfires Rage In Greece
Residents in suburbs of the Greek capital Athens were ordered to evacuate their homes as wildfires ravaged several parts of southern Europe over the weekend, including not only Greece but also Turkey, Bulgaria and Montenegro. According to government authorities in Greece, the country has quelled some of the fires—especially those nearing Athens—but firefighters were battling five major blazes on Sunday amid a severe heatwave. The extreme temperatures, which reached 44 degrees C (111F) on Sunday, are forecast to continue. 'The state mechanism was called to engage in a titanic battle, simultaneously responding to dozens of wildfires across the country. Today, the situation appears improved, but the fight continues with all available resources,' noted Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in a statement released Sunday morning, according to the Guardian. 'To those who saw their properties destroyed by the fury of the fire, know that the state will stand by your side.' Over 200 firefighters have been battling the blaze near Athens, supported by aircraft, where six firefighters have been hospitalized. There were also major fires on the islands of Kythira, Evia, and the holiday resort island, Crete. Greece has also officially requested the help of their European Union (EU) allies and though there are reports that the fires north of Athens have been quelled by Sunday, other fires in the Peloponnese area near Messinia are not yet contained. 'The situation in most areas of operations has improved at this time, after the firefighters' all-night battle,' stated fire department spokesperson Vasilios Vathrakoyannis. He noted 'active fronts' in Kythira and Polythea, Messinia, where helicopters, aircrafts, and dozens of firefighters are working to quell flames. He continued, 'We remind you that today is also expected to be a difficult day with a very high risk of fire, almost throughout the territory.' The Greek Ministry for Climate Crisis and Civil Protections shared that six regions are still at a 'very high fire risk' (risk category 4) for Monday, showing an improvement from Sunday's 11 regions with such a designation. The Associated Press also reported that flames have been blazing in Turkey for weeks now threaten the country's fourth-largest city, Bursa, as the forested mountains around the city became engulfed, forcing over 1,700 civilians to evacuate on Sunday. Orhan Saribal, a member of the Turkish Parliament wrote on social media that there are currently 3,000 fires blazing in over 50 places, and blaming the current Turkish government's response for the severity of the fires' impact. Earlier this month, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) shared that Western Europe was being influenced by a 'strong high-pressure system,' which traps dry air from northern Africa and leads to 'extreme' heat. The WMO added that this extreme heat would lead to elevated air pollution and wildfires—which has come to fruition this weekend. Europe had its hottest June on record this year. The fires come after the WMO confirmed in January that 2024 was the warmest year on record, based on six international datasets—the first calendar year in which the global mean temperature was 'more than 1.5°C above the 1850-1900 average.'
UPI
2 hours ago
- UPI
Greece and Turkey battle wildfires and extreme heat; Turkey sees 122 F
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Libya Observer
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ItaMilRadar: Italian surveillance aircraft conducted patrols off eastern Libya
The Italian website ItaMilRadar reported 'unusual activity' in the central Mediterranean region, noting the detection of an Italian Air Force reconnaissance aircraft off the coast of eastern Libya. The website said that new patrol missions were conducted on Saturday in the central Mediterranean, marking the third such flight observed by the Italian Air Force in recent days. It noted that an ATR-72A aircraft carried out a patrol mission lasting nearly six hours in the area. The Italian website, which specializes in monitoring military activity in the Mediterranean, said the latest Italian patrol focused on the coastline off eastern Libya. While the full flight path was not entirely visible, the website's data indicated that the aircraft operated primarily between the cities of Al-Bayda and Tobruk, before heading to the Greek island of Crete and then returning to Italy's Souda Air Base. Earlier on Saturday morning, before the Italian ATR-72A departed from Souda, a US Navy Boeing P-8A aircraft completed a wide orbital pattern southwest of Crete, followed by a standard surveillance mission off the coast of Syria. Tags: ItaMilRadar
