Jan 30, 2024 at 11:30 AM Update: 17 minutes ago
In an attempt to cool down Athens, the mayor of the Greek capital wants to plant a total of 25,000 trees over the next five years. With this, Haris Doukas hopes to create more ‘cool corridors’ on the streets, in parks and on the hills.
The temperature in Athens can easily rise to 40 degrees in the summer. In fact, until Tuesday, the European heat record was held by Athens. In 1977 a temperature of 48 degrees was measured.
Last year, the Greek capital was hit by several heat waves, causing major tourist attractions such as the Acropolis to be temporarily closed. In fact, according to the National Observatory of Athens, it was the warmest July on record since records began in 1863.
“High temperatures, pollution and the loss of greenery create conditions that make the city center unbearable in summer,” Doukas told the news agency AFP about his plans. Before his election as mayor in October, Doukas was a professor of energy policy. He was concerned, among other things, with sustainable growth.
The plan is to plant five thousand trees every year to provide more shade in and around Athens. Of the total number, three thousand are to be planted at the new sports complex in the Votanikos industrial district. Many new trees should also be planted on the hills around the city. In the past six years, almost a quarter of the trees there have been lost to forest fires.
- Jan 30, 2024 at 10:33 am
48.8 degrees in Sicily was still recognized as a record temperature more than two years later
- 18 July 2023 at 16:20
Video | Planes and helicopters fight wildfire near Athens
Image: NU.nl / Nick Augusteijn
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2024-01-30 10:30:44
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