Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis this Thursday called for “maximum vigilance” in light of the new heat wave hitting Greece, with temperatures likely to reach 45°C over the coming weekend.
Given the heat wave, all archaeological sites in the country, including the Acropolis of Athens, will remain closed during the hottest part of the day through Sunday, the Ministry of Culture determined.
“We must be absolutely vigilant (…) because the difficult times are not over yet”, warned the head of government during a visit to the Ministry of the Environment.
“We are facing a new wave of heat (..) and possibly stronger winds”, which have already caused several fires in the suburbs of Athens since last Monday, he stressed.
Greece forecasts maximum temperatures of 43°C for today, which should rise further in the coming days, with 44° to 45° predicted for Friday and Saturday in the center of the country.
A record temperature was recorded in the Greek capital: 44.8° in June 2007, according to the National Observatory of Athens, while in Greece the record was reached in July 1977, with 48°, in Elefsina, near Athens.
Today, the situation regarding forest fires has improved.
Copernicus for #wildfire monitoring
Hundreds of people have been evacuated #Greece is still ravaged by fierce forest fires
This new #Sentinel3 ️ image obtained yesterday showing the large wildfire east of Athens ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/Cd3o55r2ui
– Copernicus EU (@CopernicusEU) July 20, 2023
However, hundreds of firefighters continue to fight wildfires west of Athens, which have already destroyed thousands of hectares.
The prime minister deplored “the situation of the fires that have been active for four days in Attica, in the region of Athens, in Corinth and in Boeotia, close to the capital”.
According to Civil Protection, the risk of fire remains very high in the region of the capital Attica, as well as in the Peloponnese peninsula (in the southwest) and in central Greece.
On the tourist island of Rhodes, where a forest fire broke out two days ago, five planes and five helicopters were still fighting the flames.
Southeast of Athens, 3,472 hectares have burned in recent days, according to the European Observatory Copernicus.
Source: DN
