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A local reacts as flames burn trees in the village of Gennadi on the Aegean Sea island of Rhodes

Wildfires reach outskirts of Athens as strong gusts of wind cause flare-ups around Greece

Firefighters also battled flames on Rhodes for a 10th successive day.

WILDFIRES HAVE REACHED the outskirts of Athens as strong gusts of wind cause flare-ups around Greece, disrupting motorway traffic and rail services.

The fires have raged across parts of the country during three successive Mediterranean heatwaves over two weeks, leaving five people dead, including two firefighting pilots, and triggering a huge evacuation of tourists over the weekend on the island of Rhodes.

Water-dropping helicopters and a ground crew were called early today to a blaze in Kifissia, just north of Athens, which was quickly put out.

Near the central city of Volos, a wildfire burned on two fronts, forcing a section of Greece’s busiest motorway to shut for several hours, while national rail services passing through the area were delayed.

Firefighters also battled flames on Rhodes for a 10th successive day, while flare-ups were reported on the island of Evia.

Wildfire carbon emissions for July in Greece were the highest by a huge margin — totalling over one metric megaton and doubling the previous record — since records started 20 years ago, according to the European Union agency that analyses satellite data, the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service.

“Unfortunately, it is not all that surprising, given the extreme conditions in the region,” said Mark Parrington, a senior scientist at the agency.

“The observed intensity and estimated emissions show how unusual the scale of the fires have been for July relative to the last 20 years of data.”

embedded93f870e55ffb4ae49434d5f92757c8ea Apples and water for the animals, left by locals, lie in the burnt forest near Gennadi village on Rhodes Petros Giannakouris / PA Images Petros Giannakouris / PA Images / PA Images

In Athens, at a ceremony held at the defence ministry, senior members of the armed forces paid tribute to the two pilots killed in a firefighting plane crash this week.

Captain Christos Moulas and Lieutenant Pericles Stephanidis died during a low-altitude water drop on the island of Evia.

Defence minister Nikos Dendias said the operators showed “self-denial in the line of duty”.

“Greece today is in mourning. Their memories will live on,” he said.

Funeral services for the two airmen will be held in northern Greece later today and on the island of Crete tomorrow.

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    Mute Shaun Gallagher
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    Nov 15th 2022, 9:54 AM

    Our carbon tax is working well.

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    Mute Michael Dowling
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    Nov 15th 2022, 10:17 AM

    @Shaun Gallagher: I want a refund of this failed policy.

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    Mute Edward Reid
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    Nov 15th 2022, 10:21 AM

    House retrofitting is not going to work, because the grants are still making it out of reach for most to upgrade and then even if they increased the grants or gave tax breaks, we don’t have the workforce to make the difference in the time needed for this. Government need to put viable alternatives in place for all not just the top 5%!

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    Mute Derek Lyster
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    Nov 15th 2022, 11:17 AM

    @Edward Reid: house retro fitting should be free to those who need it. There should also be courses up and running training people on how to retrofit houses. Of course this should have happened years ago but the minister of soundbites and no substance has been asleep at tge wheel.

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    Mute Dave Barrett
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    Nov 15th 2022, 10:28 AM

    Bring back the Turf.

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    Mute SPQH
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    Nov 15th 2022, 9:22 AM

    This reporting seems off, I just looked up the index and Denmark is the highest EU country at 4th, Sweden is at 5th.

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    Mute David Corrigan
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    Nov 15th 2022, 9:26 AM

    @SPQH: They are over doing the reporting. It’s going to get to the stage where people won’t listen anymore and just say screw it. The reports are relentless at this stage.

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    Mute Pat Man
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    Nov 15th 2022, 11:10 AM

    @David Corrigan: The essence of brainwashing, keep repeating the message over and over .Very little balance, resulting in a small number of indoctrinated fanatical supporters and a disillusioned majority.

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    Mute SPQH
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    Nov 15th 2022, 9:25 AM

    Interestingly there is no 1st 2nd or 3rd place as no country has scored high enough it seems! So Denmark sits at highest.

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    Mute Hans Vos
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    Nov 15th 2022, 9:59 AM

    Reading this: it’s about time that we’re opting in.

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    Mute Metaljester
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    Nov 15th 2022, 10:03 AM

    @Hans Vos: more carbon tax is the answer……

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    Mute Hans Vos
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    Nov 15th 2022, 11:26 AM

    @Metaljester: more and better recycling like a lot of other countries is a better answer.

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    Mute Baronvoncass
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    Nov 15th 2022, 3:34 PM

    @Hans Vos: it would be good to see especially for businesses, separate to do with climate change issue though.

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    Mute Baronvoncass
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    Nov 15th 2022, 3:36 PM

    . Energy infrastructure is the way forward. Invest in fast track wind turbines. We need to maximise our resources, and we also do need security of having gas fields available for energy security aswell. Heat pumps for new and major renovations. Insulation grants for the large stock the rest have little alternative to gas and oil central heating, focus on improving insulation in those.

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    Mute thesaltyurchin
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    Nov 15th 2022, 6:58 PM

    @Baronvoncass: Would be buying into tidal systems big time also.

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    Mute thesaltyurchin
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    Nov 15th 2022, 6:57 PM

    “In transport, long-term patterns of a car-dependent system.”… er, isn’t that how we’ve been politic’d?

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