Kyriakos Mitsotakis described the current days as 'extremely difficult' on social media, mentioning the 'extreme weather conditions and winds' that frequently reach 100 kilometers per hour, according to AFP agency.
The Head of Government stated that there are times when the force of natural phenomena exceeds any human planning or available operational capacity.
During the high tourist season, in just seven days, more than 12 thousand hectares of agricultural and forest areas were destroyed by the flames in Greece, which is being severely impacted by the climate crisis, as is the entire Mediterranean region.
Although Greece is habitually affected by fires during summers due to recurring droughts and heatwaves, it had avoided major outbreaks at the beginning of this season, unlike what happened in Spain and France.
Currently, the country is at the maximum alert level. A notable occurrence was a fire started on Friday in Porto Germeno, located approximately 70 kilometers northwest of Athens, near the Gulf of Corinth, causing concern among the population and authorities.
Theodore Giannaros, a meteorologist specializing in fires and researcher at the National Observatory of Greece, quoted by AFP, opined that it is 'very likely—not to say almost certain—that this fire will be classified as a megafire.'
According to the French news agency, Greek firefighters are dealing with multiple simultaneous fires. In Porto Germeno, about 500 professionals are mobilized, while another 100 are fighting a focus in Aigialia, located in the north of the Peloponnese peninsula.
Additionally, a new fire started on Saturday night on the island of Kefalonia, located in the Ionian Sea.
Evangelos Tournas, the Greek Minister of Civil Protection, declared on Saturday that the firefighters were 'pushed to the limit.' He recalled that there were three deaths among firefighters this week in service: two in Crete and one in the Peloponnese.
The minister explained that the intensity of the winds created 'extremely difficult conditions,' resulting in several situations where aircraft could not perform water drops or collect water due to strong turbulence.
