Greece’s worst heatwave in 30 years caused raging forest fires north of Athens, forcing authorities to order evacuations on Wednesday from the burning flames.
The authorities closed the highway linking the Greek capital with the north and south of the country. Dozens of children were evacuated from summer camps.
Residents of the Greek capital saw thick clouds of smoke from the fires that broking out on Tuesday and Wednesday in the northern suburbs.
“It is a difficult day for the country, we had 81 forest fires in the last 24 hours due to the extreme weather conditions,” said Deputy Civil Protection Minister Nikos Hardalias, reported Reuters.
At least 100 homes burnt near Athens.
Temperatures skyrocketed to more than 40 Celsius in different areas of Greece in recent days. On Tuesday, some places recorded temperatures of over 46 Celsius.
Turkish Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Bekir Pakdemirli said that firefighting teams managed to put out 152 fires out of 163 fires that broke out in 38 states between July 28 and August 3 this year.
The European Union sent aid to help the Southern European country deal with the fires.
Fires, floods and soaring temperatures are hitting Europe at an all-time high.
“Every heatwave that is happening today is made more likely and more intense by climate change,” according to Friederike Otto, associate director of the Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford.
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