The end of the heat in Greece is approaching – but the fires continue to rage The end of the heat in Greece is approaching – but the fires continue to rage

Although more than 100 firefighting planes and helicopters have been in action for days, the fires continue to rage in many regions of Greece. The risk of fire is also extremely high on Tuesday, said civil defense. Firefighters from different EU countries help the Greeks. Turkey and Egypt have also sent firefighting planes and helicopters.

Rhodes is still on fire

The situation in the southeast of the holiday island of Rhodes is bad. Strong winds are blowing, fanning the flames again and again. Several houses on the island’s mountains burned down on Monday, state television reported. Reporters on the ground feared these fires could again threaten hotel properties. Thousands of tourists and residents have recently been brought to safety there.

The damage on Rhodes is already extensive. According to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, about ten percent of hotels on the island were damaged this weekend, according to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Most of the damaged tourist facilities are located south of the Lindos region.

The island of Euboea is also ravaged by fires. The region of the small port town of Karystos is particularly affected. The fire brigade managed to contain a fire on the holiday island of Corfu on Monday. About 1000 tourists who had been brought to safety gradually returned to their hotels, The local regional state broadcaster ERA Corfu reports this on Monday evening.

Other countries are also struggling with the heat

Other countries in the Mediterranean are also struggling with heat and drought. At the beginning of the week, there was a high risk of wildfires in France, Italy, Spain and Portugal. In Malta, the high temperatures also led to power outages, some lasting up to 36 hours. State energy company Enemalta blamed the high temperatures for damaging many of its underground cables.

The Red Cross warned of the danger of old munitions explosions in light of the heat wave and forest fires. In former war zones, duds’ detonators could detonate due to very high temperatures, said Erik Tollefsen, a weapons expert at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Geneva. The same goes for ammunition that has not been cleared away from military firing ranges and abandoned ammunition depots, which are often set up in remote areas, Tollefsen told the German news agency.

A small cooling is approaching in Greece

Meanwhile – Thursday – the temporary end of the heat wave in Greece is approaching. The strong wind is expected to cool down to 35 degrees. For twelve days, the thermometers have been around 40 to 45 degrees in most regions of the country. That will then be the longest heat wave, lasting more than two weeks, since measurements were taken in Greece, according to meteorologists.

Before the cooldown comes, there will be one last heat climax. Especially in the west of the country, a wind from Libya is expected for Tuesday and Wednesday: it is a hot, dry autumn wind – the infamous “Livas”. Meteorologists described the phenomenon as extremely dry and as hot as air from a hair dryer. (saw/sda/dpa)