How serious are the wildfires near Athens, Greece?
Al Jazeera
The flames began on Sunday and have quickly spread to several suburbs of Athens.
At least one person has died after one of Greece’s worst wildfires this year broke out on the outskirts of the capital, Athens, on Sunday. Authorities say the fires are now mostly under control with only a few “scattered hot spots”, but could spark up again later in the week.
In recent years, wildfires have become a common occurrence in summer for Greece as climate change has caused intense heatwaves and reduced rainfall in the Mediterranean country, creating ideal fire conditions.
According to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) and Greenpeace, 42,900 hectares (106,0000 acres) of land were burned by wildfires in Greece in 2023.
This figure is nearly double the area burned in 2022 and triple the amount in 2020.
Here’s what we know about the latest bout of wildfires in Greece:
