Tourist advisory: fires are increasing in Greece

Tourism is facing problems related to the heat wave and its effects. Greece, a country that fears devastating fires this summer, has already suffered "more than twice as many" fires in June than in the same month of 2023 due to particularly high temperatures, the government spokesman announced. In June, there were "1,281 fires, more than double than in the same month last year, when there were 533," Pavlos Marinakis said at a press conference. "June is the warmest ever recorded, and scientific forecasts for July are similar globally," added the spokesperson. The area burned in June amounted to 9,800 hectares, which is five times higher than the average observed since 2010, according to a specialized center of the National Observatory in Athens, quoted by the daily Kathimerini. Earlier this month, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis warned that his country had "entered the heart of fire season". The country, an important tourist attraction, is affected every summer by suffocating temperatures and devastating fires. But the situation could be even worse this year. The winter was the mildest on record and the earliest heatwave, with temperatures locally exceeding 44°C in the first half of June. Forest fires, fueled by strong winds and drought, have wreaked havoc in recent weeks in the Athens region, the Peloponnese (southwest) and the island of Chios in the northeastern Aegean.

The forecast map published by the Ministry of Civil Protection warns of a very high risk of fires, especially for the region around the capital, Attica, while the temperature will rise to over 40°C in the coming days in Greece. In 2023, this Mediterranean country, accustomed to heatwaves, suffered an unprecedented two-week heat wave and forest fires that resulted in casualties. Climate change is making extreme weather events such as heat waves more likely, according to researchers.