An expert at the Greek Meteorological Authority said today, Saturday, that there is no end in sight to the heat wave in the country, although firefighters managed to control huge fires that broke out near the capital.
Temperatures are expected to reach 45 degrees Celsius in southern Greece at the weekend, but the north of the country will also face high temperatures of about 40 degrees Celsius.
Even on most of the Aegean islands, temperatures will exceed 38 degrees. Because sparks can cause or exacerbate wildfires in dry conditions, the fire brigade has reiterated warnings about a high risk of wildfires. “We are facing more difficult times,” a spokesman for the fire brigade told state television Saturday morning.
Meanwhile, hundreds of firefighters from Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, Slovakia and Malta have arrived in Greece to reinforce local firefighting crews and help fight fires.
France, Italy, Turkey, Cyprus, Israel and Jordan are also supporting these efforts with planes and helicopters to put out the fires, according to the Greek Civil Defense Authority.
Temperatures in mainland Greece are expected to reach 48 degrees Celsius by Wednesday, bringing the country to the record temperature set on the Italian island of Sicily two years ago.
Some of the forest fires that broke out near Athens last Monday are still raging, as the country faces a new bout of heat coming from the Sahara desert over the next six days. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Thursday: “The hard times are not over yet.” The prime minister is reaching out to other European leaders to provide more aircraft and firefighters to put out the fires.
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