The fire on Mount Parnitha left more destruction in its wake on Thursday. There were reportedly nine arson attempts made on Thursday morning in the area of Avlona, in the Parnitha foothills. ‘What is happening is not only unacceptable but obscene and criminal,’ said Civil Protection Minister Vasilis Kikilias. [LILIA AGATHOU/AMNA]
Twelve major fires have burned more than 60,000 hectares in seven years, claiming a third (33%) of Attica’s forests, according to the updated analysis by the National Observatory of Athens’ Meteo service of data provided by the EU’s Copernicus Rapid Mapping Service and the European Forest Fire Observatory (EFFIS).
In Attica, the surface area of forest is approximately 123,000 hectares and 40,500 hectares have been burnt, i.e. 33% of the forest area.
Describing the data as “alarming,” Meteo noted that the numbers underline the need for a comprehensive redefinition of Greece’s forest fire management strategy.
It stressed that forest fire management requires an integrated approach that incorporates cutting-edge knowledge from different sciences.
“It is characteristic that the occurrence of extreme forest fires involves coupling, the interaction of fire and atmosphere, so it is impossible to draw up any management strategy without the active contribution of meteorological knowledge,” it said.
