Persistent heat wave
In Greece, fires continue to rage
Strong winds and stifling heat stake the flames across the country. Five main fires raged on Sunday.
A helicopter drops water on a fire house during a fire in Kryoneri, near Athens on July 26, 2025.
AFP
The Greek firefighters continue their fight against the flames on Sunday, on the second day of ravaging forest fires in several regions, fueled by strong winds and a persistent heat wave throughout the Greece.
Five main fires raged on Sunday, especially in the Peloponnese (southwest) peninsula as well as on the islands of Crete, Evée and Cythera, where planes and helicopters resumed their operations at dawn, according to firefighters.
“Today’s day (Sunday) promises to be difficult with a very high risk of fire on almost the whole territory,” warned the spokesperson for firefighters, Vassilis Vathrakogiannis.
However, he assured that the situation had “improved on most fronts” which appeared on Saturday.
The Greecein the grip of a heat wave for the seventh consecutive day, this Sunday is still recording very high temperatures with maximum expected from 43 to 44 ° C, according to the Meteo.gr site of the National Observatory of Athens.
Strong winds up to 7 Beaufort should blow on the Aegean and Ionian seas before however weaken during the day, said the same source.
Dozens of fires
On Saturday, the Greek firefighters had to fight “a titanic battle against dozens of fires,” said Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, pointing to “the worsening of the environmental crisis”.
“The fight continues with all the means available,” he added on social networks.
The island of Cythera, off the Peloponnese, continued to face “disturbing” winding conditions while public television ERT evoked “a huge disaster” on this territory of 3,600 inhabitants.
“Houses, hives, olive trees have been burned,” explained Giorgos Komninos, the deputy mayor of Cythera, in Ert. “A monastery is currently in danger.”
Some 67 firefighters supported by volunteers, three helicopters and two planes fought the fire on this island, which led to the evacuation of a tourist beach on Saturday. Five firefighters were hospitalized on Saturday.
In this customary Mediterranean country of intense heat waves, the firefighters called the population to the greatest vigilance, repeating that in the event of the start of fire, it was “imperative to follow the instructions for the safety of all”.
On Saturday, the highest temperature in Greece, 45.2 ° C, was recorded in the west.
Since Monday, the whole of this country has been struck by a heat wave that has increased the thermometer up to 45.8 ° C Friday locally and at 42 ° C in Athens.
Very high risk of fires
The risk of fire remains “very high” for Sunday in Attica (the region where the capital is located), the center and the west of Greece, Crete in particular, according to civil protection.
A drop in temperatures should however take place on Monday.
Greece has requested aid from the European Union to deal with the flames with six fire -fighting planes, via the European Resource Program (Resceu).
Two Italian planes are expected on Sunday while units specialized in this field of the Czech Republic are already in action.
Devastating fires on Saturday
On Saturday, 30 km north of Athens, a fire raged, resulting in damage and destruction before being mastered. “The wind was too strong. The blaze surrounded us, “said Petros Avramopoulos, an accountant.
“What can we do?” We don’t know (…). I hope we will be saved. People have lost their property, ”said Giorgos, a resident of the village of Kryoneri.
On the island of Evée, near the capital, flames have reduced thousands of hectares of forest to ashes and thousands of cattle heads were lost when fire has reached farms and dispersed farms.
In certain private current areas since Saturday, teams have started to repair the serious damage suffered by the electricity network. Many villages have also encountered serious water supply problems.
On the island of Crete, the firefighters mastered the fire at the Canée, according to the Greek news agency Ana. Two other fronts were active in the Peloponnese.
Greece knows destructive fires every summer. THE fire which multiply through the globe are associated with various phenomena anticipated by scientists due to warming of the planet.
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