Greece to bake in season’s first heatwave
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Athens: Greece will endure a three-day heatwave starting on Tuesday with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius, the country’s civil protection minister said, warning of a high wildfire risk.
The heat “will peak on Wednesday and Thursday”, Vassilis Kikilias told reporters ahead of a cross-ministry meeting.
As a result, Greece’s fire risk warning will be placed at a “very high” level of four on a scale of five, he said.
Meteorologists had warned that temperatures could hit 43 degrees Celsius this week before falling at the weekend.
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Greece had its warmest winter on record, followed by higher-than-normal temperatures in April.
Wildfires, a perennial problem in the Greek summer, started as early as March at an altitude of over 1,000m.
This month, firefighters have battled dozens of forest fires on a daily basis.
“It will be a very difficult fire season,” Kikilias said.
Greece has adopted stiffer sentences for accidental and premeditated arson.
From May 1, perpetrators will face up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to €200,000 (US$215,000).
According to the National Observatory of Athens, fires in 2023 consumed nearly 175,000ha of forest and farmland in Greece after a two-week heatwave, the longest on record.
Increased temperatures driven by human-caused fossil-fuel emissions are lengthening fire seasons and causing more land to be burned in some places, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.