Blaze near Athens contained but Europe’s heatwave keeps authorities on alert
20 July 2023, 14:24
Searing heat across Europe’s Mediterranean south has maintained a high or very high risk of fires in Spain, Italy and Greece.
Greece’s fire service have intensified water drops west of Athens where a huge blaze was contained overnight – as authorities brace for a new round of extreme weather.
Seven firefighting planes and nine helicopters were operating in the area, including four planes sent from Italy and France as part of a European Union support mechanism.
Searing heat across Europe’s Mediterranean south has maintained a high or very high risk of fires in Spain, Italy and Greece.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the fire service and civil protection authority will remain on alert as a new heatwave moves east across Greece.
Temperatures are expected to reach 45C Sunday.
“The hard times are clearly not over yet,” Mr Mitsotakis said.
“We are facing another heatwave and a possible strengthening of the winds. So absolute vigilance and absolute readiness are required over the next few days.”
A state of emergency was declared on Thursday on the island of Rhodes, where evacuation orders were issued for several mountain areas.
In Spain, a 42-year-old Moroccan man died from a heat-related issue on Wednesday, Spain’s public news agency EFE said on Thursday.
He collapsed in a street in the region of Murcia in Spain’s southeast, the agency said.
Temperatures in Murcia peaked at 44C on Wednesday.
Malaga hit 44.2C, matching an all-time record for the southern coastal city, Spain’s weather service said.
Temperatures are forecast to fall on Friday before rising again on Sunday, when Spaniards are called to cast ballots in a national election.
