Firefighters in Greece are fighting to contain a wildfire west of Athens that has burned through forestland for a fifth day; Reuters and other news outlets are reporting that airtankers and reinforcements from several countries including Cyprus, France, Israel, and Italy are working the fire near Athens that’s burned homes and forced evacuations.
On Friday, Greek firefighters were working nearly 80 fires across the country, and the government on Friday announced relief measures for affected households, including financial aid and subsidies for residential rent.
Climate Crisis Minister Vassilis Kikilias urged residents to remain on guard. The risk of wildfires in the coming days will remain high, and more hot weather is forecasted. “We are having a very difficult three-day spell,” he said, “with extreme weather conditions and very high temperatures followed by strong winds.” He added that after a short respite, another heatwave was then forecast from the middle of next week.
With temperatures expected to hit 45°C (113°F) over the weekend, during the height of the summer tourist season, the Culture Ministry announced that all archaeological sites including the Acropolis monument will be closed between 12 noon and 5.30 p.m. until at least July 23.
Meteorologists are warning that extreme temperatures will persist till at least the end of July.
