Due to drought and exceptionally high temperatures, there have already been dozens of small fires in Greece in the past few days. Authorities warn that a storm could fan the flames further.
After more than five weeks without rain, numerous fires broke out in Greece over the weekend. On Saturday alone, the fire department counted more than 70 bush fires and fires on agricultural land. Most of them broke out in Crete and central Greece. They were brought under control, the fire department announced.
However, a man was seriously injured in Crete while trying to protect his home near the small port of Ierapetra, Greek Radio (ERT) reported.
Storms could start fires
However, meteorologists now expect storms with speeds of up to 60 kilometers per hour, which increases the fire risk “extremely”, said the Greek Ministry of Civil Protection. In the region around Athens, in the center of the country, on the Cyclades islands and the popular holiday island of Crete, warning level four out of five now applies.
According to the National Observatory in Athens, Greece recorded a record average temperature of 11.8 degrees Celsius this winter. The observatory has warned of a worrying drought.
Unusually high temperatures were recorded especially in April – in Chania on Crete the thermometer climbed to 31 degrees Celsius on Tuesday. Like many Mediterranean countries, Greece suffered from several extreme heat waves last summer that killed several people. Due to climate change, the number and intensity of heat waves is increasing.
Climate change is causing forest fire seasons to start earlier
Last year, forest fires in Greece, some of which raged for weeks, caused extensive damage. The tourist island of Rhodes was among those affected. Hotels and holiday resorts there had to be evacuated and around 20,000 holidaymakers and locals had to be brought to safety. Huge areas also burned down in the Dadia National Park in the northeast of the country. In total, almost 175,000 hectares of land were destroyed by fire.
Experts assume that because of climate change, the forest fire season is starting earlier every year – so far it has usually started at the beginning of May.