Ongoing Wildfires in Greece , Threaten Athens and Drive Steep , Increase in Carbon Emissions.
On July 27, wildfires reached the edges
of Athens, Greece, as strong winds
drove flare-ups across the country.
Fox News reports that the widespread
wildfires come amid a two-week
heat wave, which has left five people dead.
The fast-moving fires have triggered a massive
evacuation of tourists on the island of Rhodes.
On the outskirts of Athens, water-dropping
helicopters were deployed, along with ground crews,
to put out a blaze in Kifissia, just north of the capital. .
Fox News reports that near the central city
of Volos, wildfires forced stretches of Greece's
most-traveled highways to close for several hours. .
National rail services throughout the area
were also temporarily suspended. .
Firefighters have reportedly been battling fires
in Rhodes for ten consecutive days, while new fires
have also started on the island of Evia.
According to the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service,
Greece's wildfire carbon emissions this month are the highest
since records began 20 years ago, totaling over 1 metric megaton. .
Unfortunately, it is not all that
surprising, given the extreme
conditions in the region. , Mark Parrington, senior scientist at the Copernicus
Atmosphere Monitoring Service, via Fox News.
The observed intensity and estimated
emissions show how unusual the scale
of the fires have been for July
relative to the last 20 years of data, Mark Parrington, senior scientist at the Copernicus
Atmosphere Monitoring Service, via Fox News