Greece struggled to contain a wildfire west of Athens that burnt forestland for a fifth day on Friday as the country was facing its hottest July weekend in 50 years, while a record-breaking heat wave stretching across the southern US was expected to expand in coming days.
Firefighters, backed by air water bombers and reinforcements by several countries, including Cyprus, France, Israel and Italy, attempted to control the fire that broke out in the wider Athens area on Monday, gutting houses and forcing evacuations.
More than 100 houses and businesses have been severely damaged by the wildfire and another near Athens that authorities put out earlier in the week.
Photo: Reuters
The government on Friday announced relief measures for afflicted households, including financial aid and subsidies to rent houses.
Two other blazes in forests on the island of Rhodes and in the Lakonia district in southern Greece were tamed on Friday.
Greek Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Vassilis Kikilias urged people to remain on guard.
The risk of wildfires in the coming days is expected remain high and further heat is forecast following on from a previous heatwave.
“We are having a very difficult three-day spell, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with extreme weather conditions and very high temperatures followed by strong winds,” Kikilias said, adding that after a short respite, another heatwave is forecast starting from the middle of next week.
“This weekend risks being the hottest registered in July in the past 50 years,” said Panagiotis Giannopoulos, a meteorologist with the Hellenic Broadcasting Corp. “Athens is going to have temperatures above 40°C for six to seven days, through to the end of July.”
As temperature records tumble, experts have pointed the finger at climate change driven by the burning of fossil fuels, saying global warming is playing a key role in destructive weather.
Across the southern US, about 80 million Americans are expected to swelter in temperatures of 41°C and above this weekend, the US National Weather Service said.
The country’s worst heat of up to 46°C is forecast for Phoenix, Arizona, which has seen a record-breaking three weeks in a row of highs above 43°C.
Tourists, meanwhile, have been flocking to Death Valley National Park, which straddles the border between California and Nevada, in order to post selfies with a temperature display outside the visitor center.
Many are hoping to see it break a world record of 56.7°C, which was set in July 1913 but was likely the result of a faulty measurement, according to several meteorologists.
Regardless, this month is on track to be the hottest absolute month — not only since records began, but also in “hundreds, if not thousands, of years,” leading NASA climatologist Gavin Schmidt said.
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