Greek minister says wildfires reduced to ‘scattered hotspots’ – as it happened

12.53pm BST

Summary of the day

• A wildfire continued to burn on the outskirts of Athens, though its intensity has been reduced.

• The Greek minister for climate crisis and civil protection, Vassilis Kikilias , has said that “forty hours after the extremely dangerous wildfire broke out in Varnava, we can now say that there is no active front, only scattered hotspots.”

• The woman who was found dead in a factory in an Athens suburb has been identified as a Moldovan citizen in her 60s.

• Greece’s opposition lambasted prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis ’ centre right government for what has been described as a lacklustre response to the inferno.

• With fire damage already being evaluated, the Greek government has announced that support measures will be formally unveiled for the afflicted later today.

• The Greek foreign ministry thanked partners for their assistance in combating the wildfires.

12.37pm BST

With fire damage already being evaluated by civil protection teams of engineers and other officials, the Greek government has announced that support measures will be formally unveiled for the afflicted later today.

The Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis , will oversee an emergency meeting to discuss management of the fires at 6 PM local time.

Thousands of people, evacuated from homes destroyed by the fast-moving blaze, will be able to apply for financial assistance.

The 15-strong package of natural disaster measures includes an initial support payment of 10,000 euros for properties deemed dangerous for use – marked with a red X – and 5,000 euro for those deemed temporarily unsuitable for use, marked with a yellow X.

Through an online portal expected to open in the coming days, the fire stricken will be able to apply for government aid and interest-free loans to rebuild damaged properties and absolved from paying property taxes, known as ENFIA, for three years. Business owners will also be absolved from meeting tax obligations for at least six months.

The measures were slammed by the opposition as not only being inadequate but tantamount to an “aspirin” being meted out by a government now bent on damage control. In what will be remembered as one of the worst fires in living memory, the blaze entered the ‘urban fabric’ of the capital, destroying buildings in northern suburbs.

“The government is attempting damage control after the huge and catastrophic fire that raged for 40 hours in Attica, even entering the urban fabric [of Athens] and leaving behind a dead woman” the left wing daily Efsyn wrote.

11.40am BST

A bouquet of white flowers could be seen outside the burnt out factory in the northern suburb of Vrillisia on Tuesday where first responders found the victim’s body late Monday.

The woman was described as a 63-year-old mother of two.

One of the factory’s employees told the state broadcaster ERT that the Moldovan had been “too scared to jump from the balcony” at the back of the building and had rushed to the bathroom to douse herself in water in the hope of protecting herself as the flames encroached when she is believed to have lost consciousness.

Updated at 11.44am BST

11.38am BST

Opposition criticises government response to wildfire

Greece’s opposition wasted little time Tuesday lambasting prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis ’ centre right government for what has been described as a lacklustre response to the inferno.

Stefanos Kasselakis , who heads the main opposition Syriza party, said that he had only witnessed three water-bombing aircraft in action – and not the 35 that officials had cited – when he visited the operational headquarters of the civil protection ministry.

The left wing party has demanded to see the data. “The Greek people deserve to know the truth,” Kasselakis said.

Addressing the criticism, the minister of civil protection minister, Vassilis Kikilias , reiterated authorities had done whatever was humanly possible. Aerial means were scrambled within five ministers of the fire erupting on Sunday, he said, while the first ground forces arrived in seven minutes.

I will say yet again that from the eruption of the fire on Sunday the time that it took to respond by air was five minutes and with fire engines seven minutes.

The reality is this: that despite the speed of the operational response – the new dogma that in combination with the technical support of drones has been enforced with the hundreds of fires confronted this summer – when extreme conditions prevail the problem becomes insurmountable.

Fire fighting forces had not only faced Level Five conditions – when the risk of fire is at the highest level – but winds of up to 8 beaufort with prolonged dryness and in an areas that were often very difficult to get to.

“We are not talking about a simple fire that simple got out of control … we are talking about the most difficult and most dangerous scenario … this is the reality that we faced,” the minister said.

Updated at 12.15pm BST

11.10am BST

The woman who was found dead in a factory in an Athens suburb has been identified as a Moldovan citizen in her 60s, AFP reports.

“She worked for me 20 years. She was perfect. On every level. She was hardworking, polite,” said Klearchos Smaraidas.

One man on the scene who spoke on condition of anonymity told AFP that when the building caught fire, most of the employees escaped through the back but the woman was too afraid and thought she would be safe in the bathroom.

10.29am BST

'No active front, only scattered hotspots', minister says

The Greek minister for climate crisis and civil protection, Vassilis Kikilias , has said that “forty hours after the extremely dangerous wildfire broke out in Varnava, we can now say that there is no active front, only scattered hotspots.”

He added:

During these 40 hours, 702 firefighters, supported by 27 forest commando teams, 199 vehicles, and 35 aerial units—including 17 aircraft and 18 helicopters, three of which were used for coordination—fought the fire in northeastern Attica with superhuman effort.

Volunteers, the Police, the Army, Forest Service and Forestry Workers, the Authority of Attica Region, and Municipalities, with the assistance of the 112 emergency service, evacuated and saved 45 areas.

Updated at 10.29am BST

9.52am BST

Heat aggravated by carbon pollution killed 50,000 in Europe last year – study

Hot weather inflamed by carbon pollution killed nearly 50,000 people in Europe last year, with the continent warming at a much faster rate than other parts of the world, research has found.

The findings come as wildfires tore through forests outside Athens, as France issued excessive heat warnings for large swathes of the country, and the UK baked through what the Met Office expects will be its hottest day of the year.

Doctors call heat a “silent killer” because it claims far more lives than most people realise. The devastating mortality rate in 2023 would have been 80% higher if people had not adapted to rising temperatures over the past two decades, according to the study published in Nature Medicine.

Elisa Gallo , an environmental epidemiologist at ISGlobal and lead author of the study, said the results showed that efforts taken to adapt societies to heatwaves had been effective.

“But the number of heat-related deaths is still too high,” she warned. “Europe is warming at twice the rate of the global average – we can’t rest on our laurels.”

Read the full story here .

9.11am BST

Firefighters have been battling scattered fires today.

Six water-dropping planes and six helicopters took off at first light, the Greek fire department said, the Associated Press reported.

They are backing up the hundreds of firefighters on the ground.

The fire department said the fire no longer had any advancing fronts and firefighters were concentrating their efforts on extinguishing the flames in slow-burning areas, the AP reported.

Authorities are racing to extinguish as much of the blaze as possible before winds pick up again.

9.04am BST

Here’s an overview of the situation in southeastern Europe and the EU’s response.

8.38am BST

The Greek foreign ministry has thanked partners for their assistance in combating the wildfires.

8.38am BST

More countries set to provide assistance in battling wildfires

In his update, Colonel Vassilios Vathrakogiannis said “the number of countries that have responded to our country’s request for assistance through the European Civil Protection Mechanism has increased.”

In addition to France, Italy, and the Czech Republic, three more countries have agreed to provide support:

• Serbia will send one helicopter along with 35 firefighters and 10 vehicles.
• Romania will send 44 firefighters with 4 water tankers.
• Turkey will send two aircraft.

It is also noted that France, in addition to the helicopter, will send 200 firefighters with 28 water tankers.

8.31am BST

In the early hours of this morning, Greek authorities issued another evacuation order.

8.27am BST

Wildfire continues to burn in Athens suburbs

Greek emergency services are continuing to battle wildfires near Athens, with one person confirmed dead and evacuation orders in effect for some areas.

Authorities said however that there are signs of improvement, with lighter winds and multiple countries pledging to send firefighters, water tankers and aircraft.

Nevertheless, officials have urged everyone to stay alert.

In an evening update, Fire Colonel Vassilios Vathrakogiannis said:

The wildfire that broke out yesterday in Varnava and spread to northeastern Attica is showing signs of improvement.

Ground forces remain strong. While there is no longer an active fire front, there are still many active hotspots, primarily in the wider area of Mount Penteli and Lake Marathon.