Last August, wildfires devastated the northern half of the island of Evia, Greece's second largest. These and other major fires stretched the country's firefighting capability to the limit and required aid from 24 European and Middle Eastern countries, which sent planes, helicopters, vehicles and hundreds of firefighters.
On Thursday, the European Commission said that more than 200 firefighters and technical equipment provided by European Union countries will be soon deployed to Greece to allow for a swift response to large wildfires.
"We are still in the beginning of summer and our aim is to moderate the harsh consequences of those new phenomena caused by the climate crisis," said Christos Stylianides, Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister. "Summer will be tough...weather forecasts show that, in the Eastern Mediterranean region, a climate crisis hot spot, things will, unfortunately, not be easy."
