2023-07-29 20:34:24
Greece: the ecosystem “in danger” because of the fires, according to experts
Shrinking forests and crops, overheating cities: the ecosystem in Greece is « a danger »warn experts, after 50,000 hectares went up in smoke in July, ” the worst “ month of July in more than ten years. “The winter was dry and the spring rains were not enough to maintain the humidity” in the roots, notes with Agence France-Presse (AFP) Charalampos Kontoes, agricultural engineer at the Athens Observatory.
Greece is hit by a long period of heat, strong winds and drought, climatic conditions “extreme [qui] kindle the fires”as elsewhere on the Mediterranean rim, reports on his side Nikos Bokaris, the president of the Greek Union of Foresters.
The provisional toll of the fires, especially in Attica, the Athens region, and on the tourist islands of Rhodes, Corfu or Euboea, rises “about 50,000 hectares burned”laments Charalampos Kontoes, recalling that in this respect it is the “worst month of July” in thirteen years.
On Thursday, the disaster near Volos, in central-eastern Greece, mainly affected fields. About 660 fire starts, the vast majority quickly extinguished, were recorded in ten days, an average of 50 to 70 fires per day, noted Friday the Minister of Civil Protection, Vassilis Kikilias. Greece suffers forest fires every year, often deadly, as in 2007 in the Peloponnese and Euboea (84 dead), or in 2018 in Mati, a seaside resort near Athens (103 dead).
Two years ago, fires, particularly in Euboea, killed three people during the summer and burned 130,000 hectares, including olive groves and pine forests that produce resin. Hundreds of hives had gone up in smoke. This year they have so far resulted in five deaths. The environmental repercussions will be assessed after their extinction, according to the Greek branch of the WWF.
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