Athens Wildfires Prompt Urgent Evacuations Amid Extreme Weather

Residents near Athens were evacuated as firefighters battled blazes fueled by strong winds and high temperatures. Fires in Varnava and Megara sent smoke over Athens. Greece is on high alert for more wildfires after its hottest recorded June and July, conditions exacerbated by climate change.

Residents in two areas near Athens were ordered to evacuate on Sunday as dozens of firefighters battled to contain blazes fuelled by strong winds and hot temperatures. Near the village of Varnava, some 35 km north of the capital, more than 190 firefighters were trying to contain a fire that had reached homes by late afternoon. They were backed up by 40 trucks, 11 water-bombing aircraft and five helicopters.

Fire crews were also tackling a fire in a forested area near the town of Megara, west of Athens. The fires sent thick brown smoke over parts of Athens.

Several other regions across Greece were on high alert for fire risk on Sunday and Monday. Hundreds of wildfires have broken out across Greece this summer, which just recorded its hottest June and July on record after its warmest winter. Like elsewhere in the Mediterranean, scientists have linked the increasingly hot, dry weather to climate change.

Kostas Lagouvardos, research director of the Athens Observatory, said the coming days were critical. "What makes the situation so dangerous is the prolonged drought and very high temperatures that last for a long time," he told state broadcaster ERT.

(With inputs from agencies.)