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Greece battles wildfires near Athens and on Evia island

Wildfires have swept across the island of Evia near Athens

06 August 2021 14:48 (UTC +04:00)

Greece carried out mass evacuations overnight in the northern suburbs of Athens and on the nearby island of Evia as wind whipped up huge wildfires, APA reports citing BBC.

Thousands had to leave their homes near Athens and 600 left Evia by boat. Acrid smoke hangs over the Greek capital.

Gale-force winds are forecast to fan the many blazes. Firefighters from France, Switzerland, Sweden, Cyprus and Romania are assisting Greece.

Wildfires are also raging in North Macedonia and southwestern Turkey.

North Macedonia has declared a state of emergency, and there are several blazes in neighbouring Albania and Bulgaria. The fires began spreading in the region in late July.

A fire that flared up in the north Athens suburb of Varybobi gained strength on Thursday and spread to adjacent areas, near Mount Parnitha, the Kathimerini newspaper reported.

Further east, residents of Vothonas and Marathon were told to head to the coast on Friday as wildfires spread along several fronts.

Dozens of homes have been destroyed or damaged. No deaths have been reported, but several dozen injured people are now in hospital.

"If some people still doubt if climate change is real, let them come and see the intensity of phenomena here," Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said.

Climate change increases the risk of the hot, dry weather that is likely to fuel wildfires. Greece has had a week of temperatures above 40C (107 Fahrenheit) and vegetation is bone-dry.

The world has already warmed by about 1.2C since the industrial era began and temperatures will keep rising unless governments around the world make steep cuts to emissions.