Greece faced 9,500 forest fires in 2024, says minister
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A man trying to put out a house fire in Greece in August 2024 as a wildfire scorches the area.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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ATHENS – About 9,500 forest fires, including one on the outskirts of Athens, consumed nearly 44,500ha of land in 2024, Greece’s hottest and driest year on record, official said on Dec 10.
Wildfires are common in the eastern Mediterranean country, but hotter, drier and windier weather that scientists link to the effects of fossil fuel-driven climate change has increased their frequency and intensity.
The number of wildfires was up 7.5 per cent in 2024, compared to the annual average of the previous 20 years, but there was 14 per cent less destroyed land due to the immediate response of the authorities, said Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias.
One-third of the forest fires broke out before or after the end of the fire season, which is generally from May to October, he said. “This is something that we will also face in the next coming years,” he added in a speech at an event focused on evaluating the fire season.
Greece is on the front line of climate change, and has struggled to provide relief and repair damage following destructive floods and wildfires in recent years, which scientists link to global warming.
In 2023, a wildfire burning in north-eastern Greece for 11 days destroyed an area larger than New York City, with more than 174,000ha wiped out in thousands of fires across the country. REUTERS
