Firefighters Turn Corner On Greek Fires As Risk Moves West
Umer Jamshaid Published August 13, 2021 | 10:32 PM
Greece breathed a sigh of relief Friday after "mega fires" that have ravaged much of the country were brought under control, but firefighters elsewhere in southern Europe braced for fresh outbreaks
Athens, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 13th Aug, 2021 ) :Greece breathed a sigh of relief Friday after "mega fires" that have ravaged much of the country were brought under control, but firefighters elsewhere in southern Europe braced for fresh outbreaks.
The scorching temperatures across the Mediterranean have increased the risk of blazes, which have already devastated parts of Italy, Turkey, Algeria and Tunisia, with the bulk of Spain and Portugal's regions put on high alert for wildfires.
Rising temperatures and increased dryness due to changing rainfall patterns have created the ideal conditions for forest fires, with the five-year period to 2019 "unprecedented" for fire, especially in Europe and North America, according to the World Meterological Organization.
Scientists say with heatwaves becoming longer and more intense due to climate change, they lead to out-of-control wildfires that inflict unprecedented material and environmental damage.
Although rain and a drop in temperatures helped firefighters in Greece gain a hold on the active fronts on the island of Evia and the Arcadia region which have burned more than 100,000 hectares, winds forecast this weekend increased the likelihood of new flare-ups, authorities said.
The huge multinational force assisting Greece will remain in place, said civil protection spokesman Spyros Georgious.
"They are helping to monitor the perimeters of burned areas in Evia and Arcadia, which are many kilometres long," Georgious said.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has called the fires Greece's "greatest ecological disaster in decades," which he linked directly to climate change.
- 'Difficult' days ahead - In Spain on Friday, firefighters managed to tame a blaze in the northeastern Catalonia region that forced the evacuation of a few dozen campers in a protected forest.
But another fire continued to burn near the town of Rubia in the northwest, while temperatures in some southwest provinces were expected to exceed 46 degrees Celsius (115 Fahrenheit).
In a sign of the potentially shifting front of Europe's fires, three French Canadair aircraft that had been dispatched to Greece were redeployed to Sicily.
Firefighters have been carrying out hundreds of operations throughout the island, as well as in the southern Calabria region. Meanwhile overnight, about 30 people were evacuated after a large fire broke out in a nature reserve near Tivoli, east of Rome.
Regional authorities on Sicily recorded Europe's highest ever temperature on Wednesday, of 48.8 degrees Celsius, although this still has to be officially confirmed.
Scorching temperatures were forecast to continue into the weekend across Italy, sending tourists in the major cities to flock to fountains and ice cream shops.
In Portugal, the government placed 14 of the 18 regions under a fire alert, with Prime Minister Antonio Costa warning the next few days would be "difficult".
The southern shore of the Mediterranean has not been spared, as firefighters have continued to battle blazes that already killed 71 people in northern Algeria, and dozens of fires recorded since Monday in Tunisia.
In Turkey, which has barely recovered from deadly fires, at least 27 people died in flooding in the north of the country.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
Currency Rate In Pakistan - Dollar, Euro, Pound, Riyal Rates On 21 May 2024
Today Gold Rate in Pakistan 21 May 2024
PTI founder acquitted in May 9 vandalism case
Liverpool confirm Slot will replace Klopp as manager
Russian playwright & director on trial for 'justifying' terrorism
Free media, responsible opposition play crucial roles in national development: S ..
AJK leaders condolence Iranian President's demise in helicopter crash
Schauffele birdies final hole to capture PGA for first major win
Police arrest two persons in murder case
ICC seeks arrest warrants for Israeli PM, defence minister and Hamas leaders
Business community condole tragic death of Iranian President
Murad Baloch calls on Governor Balochistan
More Stories From World
-
China sends 4 new satellites into space
13 minutes ago -
5.2-magnitude earthquake jolts Ecuador
14 minutes ago -
Trump trial prosecution rests, closing arguments likely next week
24 minutes ago -
Questions swirl a day after DR Congo 'coup attempt'
34 minutes ago -
New Zealand to dispatch rescue flight to New Caledonia in 'next hour'
44 minutes ago -
Greek trial of one of Med's worst migrant tragedies opens
54 minutes ago
-
Flurry of tremors detected at caldera in southern Italy
1 hour ago -
Sick of tourists, Japan town blocks view of Mt Fuji
2 hours ago -
New Caledonia tourists 'ecstatic' as rescue planes dispatched
2 hours ago -
Nasdaq and gold hit record highs
2 hours ago -
Japan wrestles with legacy of graft-stained Games in Paris warning
2 hours ago -
Ambassador Akram spotlights Gautam Buddha's peace legacy at UN event
2 hours ago