In Greece, over 56 thousand hectares of forest burned down in ten days

According to the European Forest Fire Information System, over 56 thousand hectares have been burned in Greece over the past 10 days, informs BBC.

The country is experiencing its worst heat wave in more than 30 years. Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes. Authorities have warned that the risk of further fires remains high in many regions, including the Athens region and Crete.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the government’s priority is “above all to protect human lives.” More than 1000 firefighters are involved in the fight against fire. Also, firefighters from Great Britain, France, Romania, Switzerland were sent to help Greece.

Dozens of wildfires have broken out over the past 24 hours in Evia (the second largest island in Greece) and in areas of the Peloponnese, including Arcadia and Olympia. In Evia, more than 2 thousand people were evacuated by ferry. Ten ships are stationed in the city of Pefki, in the north of the island, ready to evacuate more people if necessary, a coast guard spokesman told AP.

Smoke from a fire on Mount Parnitha north of Athens covered the capital on Saturday. The authorities have set up a hotline for people with breathing problems. In total, 154 hotbeds of fire were recorded in the country, transfers Interfax. In the leadership of Greece and the EU the resulting fires considered a consequence of climate change. Since the beginning of the era of industrialization, the average temperature on the planet has increased by 1.2 degrees Celsius.

Forest fires raging and east of the Aegean Sea, in Turkey. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called them the worst.