Smoke from wildfires spread to the skies of the Acropolis, Greece▶ Click here for a larger view
The situation is getting worse as the wildfires that have been spreading since the end of last month have not been put under control amid record-breaking heatwaves in southern Europe.
According to the Associated Press, CNN broadcast, and The Washington Post on the 4th (local time), the temperature in Greece reached 47.1 degrees Celsius the previous day, close to the record high in Europe.
In addition, there have been at least 78 fires, large and small, since the end of last month, putting the authorities in a state of emergency.
In the capital, Athens, 77 people were hospitalized and thousands were evacuated as houses burned and ashes flew from nearby wildfires.
On the 3rd, residents were advised to refrain from going out, and the opening hours of historical sites including the Acropolis were shortened.
150 houses were destroyed in flames on Ebia Island, the most affected area of the forest fire, and 100 firefighters, 3 helicopters, and 2 aircraft are deployed in the Olympia region, the origin of the Olympic Games, to fight the flames.
Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Michotakis warned against the worst since the 1987 heat wave, which killed more than 1,000 people.
At least eight people have been killed in a wildfire that has been rampant in Turkey for over a week.
Authorities prepared for an emergency by sending a fire-fighting helicopter to the thermal power plant in Mulla Province and emptying the flammable material tank, but the fire has not been put out due to strong winds.
According to authorities, 167 wildfires have been extinguished so far and 16 are still under fire across Turkey.
The New York Times (NYT) diagnosed that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, considered an authoritarian ruler, was driven into a political crisis due to chronic economic hardship, the spread of Corona 19 and wildfires.
The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), in a speech on the 3rd, launched an offensive accusing President Erdogan of failing to extinguish the wildfires, urging Turkey to immediately prepare for climate change.
On the other hand, President Erdogan’s far-right National Movement Party (NMP) protested, saying, “The opposition party uses forest fires as a tool for political struggle.”
In addition, in North Macedonia, an evacuation order was issued for the Kochani region as numerous wildfires spread in the east and northeast.
As the wildfire spreads at the same time, firefighting support is continuing across the border to neighboring countries.
France sent two firefighting planes to Italy on the 4th, and Cyprus also sent two planes to help Greece.
Helicopters from the Netherlands and the Czech Republic arrived in Albania, and 45 Slovenian firefighters provided support to North Macedonia.
Large wildfires in southern Turkey threaten thermal power plants▶ Click here for a larger view
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