Wildfires threaten Olympics birthplace in Greece, blaze near Turkey power plant contained
- Greece battles to control fire close to ancient Olympics site
- Fire that reached Turkey power plant contained as others burn
A heatwave across southern Europe, fed by hot air from North Africa, has contributed to wildfires breaking out across the Mediterranean, including in Italy and Greece. The heatwave is forecast to continue in Turkey and Greece until the end of the week.
Greek authorities on Thursday ordered more evacuations on an island near Athens and battled a blaze near the site of the ancient Olympic Games in the western Peloponnese as wildfires burned for a third day.
Temperatures of more than 40 degrees Celsius and strong winds have fanned more than 150 wildfires in different areas of the country in recent days, adding to the conflagrations in Turkey and other areas of the Mediterranean.
“Nightmare with no end”, the Eleftheros Typos newspaper wrote on its front page on Wednesday. “Fires Everywhere”, the left-wing Avgi said.
More than a dozen villages have been evacuated on the island of Evia near Athens since Tuesday, with some 85 people rescued by boat from a beach, as the wildfire scorched pine trees and sent clouds of ash and smoke into the air. Miles away, skies in Athens were darkened.