Halkidiki wildfire smoke reaches Larissa coast

A significant wildfire in Siviri, Halkidiki, Greece, has generated a massive smoke plume that has traveled an estimated 100 kilometers, reaching as far as the coastal areas of Larissa. The extent of the fire and the vast reach of its smoke were visualized through satellite imagery.

Geostationary satellite images from Meteosat-12 clearly depict the approximate location of the fire's thermal hotspots and the dense smoke cloud as of Thursday afternoon. The smoke's trajectory indicates it has spread significantly inland, covering a considerable distance.

Further analysis is being conducted using data from polar-orbiting satellites, which provide higher spatial accuracy. This combined approach, integrating the broad overview from geostationary satellites with the detailed data from polar-orbiting ones, enhances the continuous monitoring of forest fires. The National Observatory of Athens / meteo.gr is developing applications to process this data, improving the detection and tracking of such events.