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Greece Wildfire Expert Calls Season 'One of the Worst' in a Decade
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia /Disasters & Emergencies

Greece Wildfire Expert Calls Season 'One of the Worst' in a Decade

From Asharq Al-Awsat · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Greece is experiencing one of its worst fire seasons in a decade, with multiple blazes claiming lives and burning thousands of hectares.
  • While climate change creates conducive conditions, human activity is identified as the primary cause of ignitions.
  • Experts warn that rural areas and forests have been neglected, exacerbating the fire crisis.

Greece is battling one of the most severe fire crises in recent memory, with hundreds of firefighters engaged in combating multiple large-scale blazes across the country. The fires have resulted in at least five fatalities over the past two weeks, painting a grim picture of the ongoing fire season.

I would say that it is definitely one of the worst fire crises I've seen in the past, maybe eight to 10 years.

— Theodore GiannarosTheodore Giannaros, a senior wildfire meteorologist at the National Observatory, describes the severity of the current fire season in Greece.

Wildfire meteorologist Theodore Giannaros described the situation as "definitely one of the worst fire crises" he has witnessed in the last eight to ten years. While a precise quantitative comparison in terms of burnt areas or the number of ignitions will require waiting until the end of the fire season, preliminary analyses by the European Union's Copernicus Earth observation program indicate that over 12,000 hectares of forest and agricultural land have been consumed in the past week alone.

Giannaros cautioned against attributing the fires solely to climate change and weather patterns. He stated that while climate change creates conditions highly favorable for fires, allowing them to spread rapidly and become uncontrollable, it does not ignite them. "Unfortunately, 95 percent, or even more, of ignitions are caused by human activity, either through arson, negligence or land management," he explained.

Climate change is indeed creating conditions that are highly conducive to these kinds of fires, allowing them to spread very easily and become uncontrollable.

— Theodore GiannarosGiannaros explains the role of climate change in exacerbating wildfire conditions.

He further highlighted a long-standing issue of neglect in Greece's rural and forested areas. "We have abandoned our rural areas. Our forests are not being managed efficiently," Giannaros said, adding that the climate crisis is merely amplifying the existing problems. The fire near Porto Germeno, northwest of Athens, is being assessed as a potential "megafire," a classification often used for wildfires exceeding 10,000 hectares, based on preliminary satellite data.

Climate change definitely sets the stage for fire, but climate change and weather do not ignite fires. Unfortunately, 95 percent, or even more, of ignitions are caused by human activity, either through arson, negligence or land management.

— Theodore GiannarosGiannaros emphasizes the human element in fire ignitions, despite favorable climate conditions.

Greece has a history of devastating fire disasters, including the 2018 Mati wildfire and the 2023 Evros blaze, which have solidified the region's vulnerability. An exceptional heatwave in 2021 fueled massive wildfires that ravaged large parts of northern Evia, an island near Athens, destroying tens of thousands of hectares and leading to that blaze also being classified as a megafire. Giannaros noted that significant progress has been made in Greece's fire-weather forecasting and early-warning systems, but acknowledged that "more remains to be done."

We have abandoned our rural areas. Our forests are not being managed efficiently. The climate crisis is simply increasing the toll.

— Theodore GiannarosGiannaros points to failures in land management and rural neglect as contributing factors to the fire crisis.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Asharq Al-Awsat in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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