Greece is battling raging wildfires fueled by extreme heat and strong winds, with evacuations underway.
Temperatures above 45°C and red-alert conditions have triggered a national emergency across multiple regions.
Greece is battling a wave of devastating wildfires as the country endures one of its most severe heat waves in recent years, with temperatures surging above 45°C (113°F) and strong winds intensifying the crisis.
As of Sunday, major fires continued to rage in multiple regions, including the Peloponnese, Evia, and Kythera islands, with emergency teams working through the night and resuming aerial firefighting at dawn. One of the most dangerous hotspots remains near Drosopigi in northern Attica, just 30km north of Athens, where authorities ordered evacuations amid reports that homes were already ablaze.
Winds of up to 50 km/h (31 mph) have fanned the flames, making containment difficult. Fire officials have described conditions around Drosopigi as among the most challenging, deploying over 100 firefighters, 36 vehicles, two planes, and three helicopters to the area.
On the island of Evia, a fire has destroyed fire trucks and injured two firefighters. Meanwhile, a separate blaze broke out on Kythera around 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, rapidly spreading through agricultural and forested land and forcing the evacuation of multiple villages.
Greece’s civil protection agency has placed at least 11 regions under a red Category 5 alert the country’s highest fire risk level due to the arid conditions and persistent heat.
According to the National Observatory in Athens, Friday saw a peak temperature of 45.8°C in Messinia, Peloponnese, while Amfilochia in western Greece recorded 45.2°C on Saturday. The ongoing heatwave, which began last Monday, is expected to persist until this Monday.
This latest crisis adds to a summer already marred by multiple fire outbreaks, including one earlier this month that forced the temporary closure of the Acropolis in Athens, Greece’s top archaeological landmark.
As firefighting efforts continue, Greece has formally requested assistance from the European Union to help battle the escalating infernos threatening homes, farmlands, and protected forests across the country.
