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Large wildfires have been raging across Europe for weeks, with Southern European countries like Greece and Türkiye being particularly hard hit by this prolonged heatwave.
Last Thursday, the Greek government reinforced its military to help deal with the fires. The country also received two firefighting aircraft from Cyprus. At a press conference Friday evening, Deputy Minister of Civil Protection Nikos Hardalias said further assistance would be coming from France, Romania, Sweden, and Switzerland.
Also on Thursday, Vasilis Vathrakoyiannis, a spokesman for a fire department, said there were 120 fires burning across the country, with the largest and most worrying fires in Olympia and on the island of Evia.
Here are some noteworthy images captured from the fires.
Firefighters attempt to extinguish a fire in the yard of a house in the Dekelia-Tatoi forest, on the outskirts of Athens. (Photo: Louisa Gouliamaki/Agence France-Presse - Getty Images)
Residents help rescue teams put out a fire in the town of Oren, southern Türkiye. (Photo: Agence France-Presse - Getty Images)
Men attempt to herd sheep away from a fire-stricken road in Mugla province, southwestern Turkey. (Photo: Yasin Akgul / Agence France-Presse - Getty Images)
After a night of hard work, firefighters have brought a blaze under control that was spreading close to a power plant in Milas, Mugla province, Greece. (Photo: Yasin Akgul/Agence France-Presse - Getty Images)
Tourists await evacuation as wildfires spread down hills toward the Bodrum coast in Türkiye. Across the country, tourists have been forced to abandon once-beautiful tourist beaches. (Photo: Emre Tazegul/Associated Press)
Volunteer firefighters in Türkiye are providing relief in the village of Turgut, near the tourist area of Marmaris. (Photo: Emre Tazegul/Associated Press)
Residents leave a village devastated by fire in Sirtkoy, Türkiye. (Photo: Associated Press)
People wait on the street in the Marmaris area, Türkiye. (Photo: Yasin Akgul/Agence France-Presse - Getty Images)
Thick smoke blankets a hotel complex on Türkiye's southern coast, near the town of Manavgat. (Photo: Ilyas Akengin/Agence France-Presse - Getty Images)
A wildfire spread near the Olympic Academy in Olympia, Greece. To protect the birthplace of the Olympic Games, local authorities and the military dug a firebreak around this ancient southern Greek site to contain the blaze. (Photo: Eurokinissi, Agence France-Presse - Getty Images)
The aftermath of the wildfire in northern Athens. (Photo: Milos Bicanski/Getty Images)
The photo shows the Acropolis shrouded in smog in the heart of Athens. Tourists visiting the Greek capital see only thick smoke hanging like a curtain over the city's heritage sites. (Photo: Louisa Gouliamaki/Agence France-Presse - Getty Images)
A man stands watching as flames approach the village of Pefki, on the island of Evia. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)
The mountains near the village of Limni, on the island of Evia, are engulfed in flames. In the photograph, the sun is almost invisible through the thick smoke that blankets the houses perched on the cliffs. (Photo: Michael Pappas/Associated Press)
Some people turned on their water taps to try and put out the fire, attempting to prevent it from reaching their homes. (Photo: Yiannis Kolesidis/EPA, Shutterstock)
A helicopter draws water near the village of Lampiri, Greece. (Photo: Milos Bicanski/Getty Images)
Wildfires destroy homes near the coastal town of Manavgat, Türkiye. (Photo: Suat Metin/IHA, Associated Press)
Scientists haven't had time to examine the link between this intense heatwave and global warming, but it's clear that climate change is one of the main reasons for the extreme weather in Europe today. Numerous studies indicate that climate change has significantly exacerbated the situation during major heatwaves across Europe in recent years.
Efthymis Lekkas, a professor in the Department of Disaster Prevention at the University of Athens, warned of "a lingering nightmare in August," urging authorities to prepare for the floods that would occur as large areas of forest were devastated by wildfires.
