Plane fighting wildfires in Evia crashes
Rhodes and Corfu are bracing for at least another 48 hours of wildfire hell as temperatures throughout southern Europe are expected to peak on Wednesday.
The Greek prime minister warned on Tuesday of tough days ahead, with conditions possibly improving after Thursday.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis told ministers: “All of us are standing guard. In the face of what the entire planet is facing, especially the Mediterranean which is a climate change hot-spot, there is no magical defence mechanism.”
The Greek Fire Brigade has already been battling more than 500 fires for almost two weeks, while the high temperatures of the recent new heatwave are set to peak throughout Europe on Wednesday, exceeding 44C in some areas of Greece.
A blaze in Rhodes prompted “the biggest evacuation” in Greek history, with over 20,000 people forced to flee homes and hotels over the weekend, while around 2,500 people have already been evacuated from Corfu, which has been enduring dozens of blazes.
Meanwhile, Croatia, Portugal, Turkey and France are among the other European countries that have been battling wildfires in recent days, while the extreme weather conditions on the continent are being mirrored globally, from the US to Asia.
