‘Water bombers’ take to skies as Greece battles wildfires
Greece is battling severe wildfires that have claimed five lives and scorched over 12,000 hectares of land. Aerial firefighting operations have resumed after lighter winds allowed water-bombing aircraft to return to the skies.
Why it matters
The ongoing crisis highlights the increasing threat of extreme weather events and climate-driven disasters in the Mediterranean region.
Water-bombing aircraft resumed firefighting operations in Greece on Monday after winds eased, joining hundreds of firefighters battling multiple blazes that have already claimed five lives.
Greece, which had largely avoided major blazes at the start of the summer unlike France and Spain, is now grappling with a second consecutive week of wildfires that have scorched thousands of hectares of forest, scrubland and farmland.
“Today we are facing three difficult fronts: Psatha, Kryo Pigadi and Kandyli,” a department spokesperson told AFP, referring to areas located between 45 and 70 kilometres west of Athens.
Lighter winds allowed aerial firefighting operations to resume early on Monday, with nine water-bombing aircraft joining nine helicopters and about 450 firefighters battling the flames in the regions of Boeotia and Attica, according to the fire service.
In recent days, wind gusts reaching 80 kilometres per hour had grounded aircraft for safety reasons, hampering firefighting efforts.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in