Greece raises its level of fire vigilance in the face of numerous fire outbreaks and strong winds

Vigilance for forest fires was raised on Sunday April 7 “at level 4, high risk” in certain regions in Greece, after numerous fires broke out on Saturday, announced the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection in a press release.

According to the weather forecast, strong winds of 60 km/h will blow until Tuesday in the northern Aegean Sea, the Athens metropolitan area, the Cyclades, Crete and central Greece, “which makes the situation extremely dangerous for the outbreak of fires”, specifies the Greek ministry. For these areas, “Firefighters will be on alert and members of the armed forces will carry out patrols.”

Warmest winter on record

In total on Saturday, “71 fires in agricultural and forestry regions across the country broke out in twelve hours”, according to the government. The majority of these fires have been brought under control, especially in the center of the country, with the exception of that in Lasithi on the island of Crete which continued on Sunday, but “without there being an active front”according to firefighters.

Greece recorded “a record average temperature of 11.8 degrees” this winter, described as “hottest ever recorded in the country”, saccording to the Athens Observatory which recently warned of“a worrying level of drought”. In 2022, Greece experienced a scorching summer, marked by devastating fires which left twenty dead and spread over 175,000 hectares.