Last year wildfires, which lasted 10 seemingly endless days from 18 to 28 July, destroyed more than 15 per cent of Rhodes’ forests and more than 50 homes. The fires also prompted the largest evacuation Greece has ever known, with 20,000 people – many of them British – rescued from Kiotari, Lardos, Lindos, and surrounding villages.
According to a report in August 2023 by the National Observatory of Athens, 270 per cent more land burned in Greece between January and August 2023 compared to the average area burned annually over the previous 20 years.
Despite pledging to purchase early fire warning systems and invest in new equipment and planes, however, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has been criticised by experts and environmentalists for what’s been described as “piecemeal interventions”.
“A more integrated wildfire risk management, including co-ordinated ground interventions and proper forest management, is needed,” Eeva Ruuska, Americas head of intelligence at Riskline, told i.
Read the whole article in i news here.
Photo: Halil Kahraman/Getty Images
