Floods and pollutants now pose a threat to Athens, experts say, with the scent of Greece’s deadliest wildfire of the year still permeating its suburbs.
Earlier this month, a large fire raced out of control for three days towards the capital, eating up cars and houses and killing one woman, forcing thousands of people to abandon their homes.
Strong winds caused the fire, which started near Varnavas, 40 kilometers (25 miles) northeast of Athens, to spread, destroying about 10,000 hectares (24,700 acres) of suburbs at the base of Mount Penteli.
Experts warn that the situation is increasingly severe as the fires are getting closer to the capital, Attica, and with almost a third of the 10 million people living in the Mediterranean country squeezed into one small area.
The National Observatory says 37 percent of forests around Athens have been consumed by fire over the past eight years alone.
“Attica has lost most of its forest, and now there is imminent danger for the people of Athens, in terms of polluted environment and risk of flooding” from soil erosion, said Alexandros Dimitrakopoulos, of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
“Where 100 years ago there were vigorous forests of pines, now forest vegetation is of weak and low pines and evergreen shrubs,” the professor of forest fire science told AFP.
The National Observatory’s Theodore M. Giannaros, a fire meteorologist, stated that the “torrential rainfalls which unfortunately we are getting quite frequently” are making the situation worse.
He said, “I believe we will face during the coming winter” soil erosion and flash floods.
According to Dimitrakopoulos, the disappearance of the forests will increase Greece’s already intense summertime heat. The nation experienced its hottest June and July on record this year.
