Guards at the Acropolis of Athens and other archaeological sites in Greece will suspend work for four hours starting Thursday due to the intense heat felt in the country, their union, PEYFA, announced Tuesday.
The measure will be applied between 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. local time (2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. in Lisbon), from Thursday to Sunday.
In recent days, the guards worked in “extreme conditions (…) with temperatures above 45 °C,” the union said.
“Taking into account the problems we are facing, in particular at the Acropolis, in recent days unanimous measures have been taken to protect the health of the guards (…) as well as visitors,” added the Panhellenic Union. of Archaeological Protection Workers. Sites, in a statement.
Despite the extreme temperatures, the workers tried to carry out their duties unaware of the danger of the phenomenon,” the organization added, adding that “more than 20 visitors” to the Acropolis have already fainted in recent days.
Greek authorities decided on Friday to close the UNESCO World Heritage site during the hottest hours of the day.
Hit last weekend by the first heat wave of the year, Greece should see the thermometer rise sharply again from Thursday, with highs of 44°C expected for Friday and Saturday, in the center of the country.
Given the heat felt in the Acropolis area, the Red Cross began this Thursday to distribute tens of thousands of bottles of water.
Source: TSF
