2024-05-02 09:53:54
Today marks the official start of the firefighting season in Greece, although in the past month Greek firefighters have already put out dozens of fires in the country, where temperatures in recent weeks have started to reach 30 degrees – values that exceed the temperature peaks of the last decade by time of the year, reports the Associated Press, quoted by BTA.
This year, Greece is doubling the number of firefighters in specialized units to around 1,300 people and is adopting a tactic where, with the help of airborne units, it will try to limit the perimeter of the fires by providing interruptions along the intended path of the flames.
Funded primarily by the European Union, Greece has launched a €2.1bn program to overhaul its disaster response capabilities, ordering new water jets, drones, fire engines, training facilities and a sensor network. powered by artificial intelligence, to detect early signs of smoke and flooding. However, the new equipment will not be put into use until 2025.
Last year, about 1,750 sq km were burned by fires, including a fire in northern Greece that was the worst ever recorded in a European Union country.
Windy and mountainous, with hard-to-reach islands, Greece faces every year the daunting challenge of protecting numerous urban settlements located near forested areas at risk of fires, the agency noted.
Adding to the challenge is the fact that it’s getting hotter: according to the National Observatory in Athens, which analyzes European Union satellite data, last winter was the warmest since modern records began in 1960. The six warmest Greek winters on record in the last decade.
At the same time, new data reveals that Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, with temperatures rising at roughly twice the global average.
“This will be a very difficult fire season, a very difficult summer,” Greek Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Defense Vassilis Kikilias told AP. “We had a dry winter and autumn temperatures that lasted until December. So we are facing a climate crisis,” he added, standing at the main disaster response command center in Athens.
Throughout the month of April, firefighters stepped up drills and training using new equipment, including the “fire dragon” – a €1.2m simulator of the inside of a burning building used by fire crews to practice firefighting techniques at close range distance and rescue operations.