An area the size of Luxembourg lost to wildfires across Europe so far this summer
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How many excess heat-related deaths have researchers estimated in Europe this summer?
Researchers in the United States have published new figures on the number of excess deaths caused by heat waves in Europe so far this year. They estimate that the heat wave in the last week of June alone claimed 25,000 lives. And that one is, of course, two heat waves ago. Europe, warming faster than much of the rest of the globe, is now headed toward its worst wildfire season on record, with an area the size of Luxembourg having gone up in flames. Authorities say that fires in the hardest-hit regions of Spain and France have stabilised, even though temperatures are rising. And in Greece, three firefighters died yesterday while battling blazes on the island of Crete and in the south of the mainland.
I'm joined by The Guardian's correspondent in Greece, Helena Smith. Helena, good morning.
Good morning, Philip.
It is really horrible to contemplate now that firefighters have lost their lives and so many in one day. Do you know of the circumstances?
Well, as you say, so many in one day. This is highly unusual in Greece, a country that is on the front line of the climate emergency and which every year experiences very intense wildfires. These officers, one was as young as 25, were killed in Crete in a vehicle when they were overwhelmed by flames. A third firefighter was killed on the mainland in Yithyon. Reports are coming in that he actually died of natural causes brought on by the intense pressure of fighting these fires.
What kind of temperatures and weather conditions is the country experiencing now?
Well, actually, Philip, they're not that high. They're much higher, for example, in Spain and France.
Which regions in Europe have seen the largest wildfire areas and what size have they reached?
In Crete, for example, they're up in the higher 20s. In Athens, we're at the lower 30s this morning. What is the problem is that Greece is being whipped-lashed literally by immensely strong winds, winds as fast as 125 kilometers per hour. And of course, these winds are raging across land that is bone dry, lots of brushwood, highly inflammable. And this is what is making it so very difficult to contain these fires. Even helicopters have not been able to approach the fires, the blazes in the area of Rethymnon on the northern coast of Crete, which is the center point now, the focal point of wildfires, nor have water dumping planes because of these extremely intense winds.
It is the accumulation of brush that, of course, fuels these fires. And it's not exactly a surprise for Greece that it is going to have to deal with wildfires during the summer. How much adaptation, preparation did the government do in advance this year? Have they upped their game on previous years?
Yes, I would say they have. First of all, the government has invested, successive governments have invested in ever more firefighting equipment, ever more firefighting planes. And secondly, they've urged Greeks, you know, at the threat of being fined, to clear up brushwood in gardens around their homes. This is a very new practice, certainly was... you know, did not happen as recently as two years ago. So Greeks generally across the country are much more aware of the threats posed by firefighters and what they have to lose. So everybody from the state apparatus to Greeks collectively on the ground are much more aware of this and have upped their game.
These few months are, of course, absolutely critical to the Greek economy in terms of the income from tourism. How are the Greeks doing in performing that balancing act between public safety, but also ensuring that they don't lose out too much on those tourist dollars?
well um tourists of course are among the thousands who have been evacuated forcibly evacuated from crete overnight there are reports emerging this morning that they will be returning to the community the seaside community of Ayakallini, just outside Rethenon on the northern coast of Crete. But this is a problem that Greece, as you say, faces every year. Two years ago, we saw mass evacuations in Rhodes, in the Dodecanese, on the very popular island of Rhodes. And it is one that Greece has to do, and what it has to take, and what it's doing more and more, and what we're seeing, and we've seen in France, for example, and indeed Spain, is mass evacuations
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
How many excess heat-related deaths have researchers estimated in Europe this summer?
0:00–1:59
2
Which regions in Europe have seen the largest wildfire areas and what size have they reached?
1:59–5:37
3
What were the circumstances behind the Crete firefighter deaths and where did they occur?
5:37–11:30
4
How are weather conditions and extreme winds making Greek wildfires harder to contain?
11:30–15:45