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Greece and Turkey Battle Fires as Aegean Sea Winds Pick Up - BLOOMBERG
(Bloomberg) -- Greece and Turkey are fighting to contain wildfires as temperatures soar to 42C (108F) and gale force winds in the Aegean Sea fan outbreaks.
There is a very high risk of fires in in Athens and the surrounding Attica region, plus Peloponnese and islands including Crete and Evia. While a huge blaze on the outskirts of the capital was extinguished earlier this week, firefighters are using aircraft to tackle fires near Loutraki in northern Greece and at Kryovrisi in the northwest.
Inhabitants of Panagia in central Greece have been told to evacuate as a forest fire threatens, while people in Palabas near the border with Albania have been warned to be prepared to leave as another blaze looms.
Greece and the Balkans have been seared by heat waves and forest fires this summer, as climate change increases the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. The Greek government will hold a parliamentary debate next month on its handling of the latest wildfire season.
In Turkey, authorities evacuated at least one village in the western province of Izmir as they struggled to control forest fires that have been burning since Thursday evening, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported, citing governor Suleyman Elban. Winds of up to 80 kilometers (50 miles) per hour prevented aircraft from joining the firefighting efforts, centered on the Karsiyaka district.
Red alerts for high temperatures are in place for most of southern Italy and a large swath of the Balkans. The mercury is forecast to climb to 41C today in the Italian city of Foggia.
There are also warnings for thunderstorms along the French and Italian Riviera, plus the island of Corsica. Record rain triggered a danger alert on Thursday evening on the Spanish island of Menorca.
Rain will bring cooler conditions to central Europe, including parts of Germany, France and northern Italy, for a short spell early next week, according to Maxar Technologies Inc.
(Updates with evacuation in Greece in third paragraph)
