In Pictures
Greece battles major wildfires amid persistent heatwave
Greek crews fight wildfires in 45C heatwave as strong winds fan the flames and force evacuations.
Greek emergency services are battling numerous wildfires as a weeklong heatwave peaked with temperatures surpassing 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit).
Fires were still raging on Sunday morning in the Peloponnese area west of the capital, Athens, as well as on the islands of Evia and Kythera, with planes and helicopters resuming their work in several parts of the country at dawn.
According to firefighters, one of the most difficult fronts was around Drosopigi in northern Attica, just 30km (18.6 miles) north of Athens.
Authorities called for an evacuation of the village, while, according to state-run Ertnews TV, a house was already alight in Drosopigi, as winds of 5 to 6 Beaufort (in the range of 30-50km/h or 19-31mph) raged.
Authorities on Saturday warned of an extreme risk of wildfires, placing several regions under a red Category 5 alert, the highest on the national scale, due to hot and dry conditions.
A heatwave in Greece that began last Monday was expected to last until this Monday, according to the country’s meteorological service.
The National Observatory in Athens said the warmest temperature recorded on Friday was 45.8C ( 114.5F) in the Peloponnese region of Messinia. On Saturday, the temperature reached 45.2C (113.4F) in Amfilochia, western Greece.
About 100 firefighters were battling the blaze near Drosopigi with 36 vehicles, two aeroplanes and three helicopters, according to the Athens News Agency.
On the island of Evia near the Attica region of Athens, a fire was also raging out of control. Two fire engines were destroyed while two firefighters were taken to hospital with minor injuries.
A wildfire that broke out shortly before 9:30am (06:30 GMT) on Saturday in an agricultural and forested area on the island of Kythera in southern Greece was also out of control.
Strong winds are causing the fire to spread rapidly and prompting evacuations of several settlements. Greece has sought assistance from the European Union to battle the wildfires.
