Fire prevention

Türkiye's cutting-edge AI-enhanced "Decision Support System," employed in combating forest fires, will receive the World Information Society Summit Award from the UN's International Telecommunication Union at a ceremony held in Geneva on May 27-31.

Greece experienced 3,543 wildfires between January 1 and May 1, a rise of 22% compared to last year's 2,907 blazes, according to the Fire Service, which is bracing for a very difficult season. 

A wildfire broke out in low vegetation in Viotia, northwest of Athens, on Friday. 

The Fire Service said ground and air forces were at the area of Agia Triada, together with a team from arson unit. It was not clear if authorities had found indications that the blaze was an arson.

When firefighters arrived at a blaze in a pine forest on the Greek island of Rhodes last July, flames were already leaping above the trees into the night sky. The volunteers needed to act fast, but dense vegetation on the forest floor blocked access.

Skimming over miles of hills blackened by wildfires west of Athens, Fire Lt. Col. Ioannis Kolovos readies his elite fire crew crouched inside a helicopter.

Turkish authorities have concluded the last preparations against possible forest fires in the light of the onset of summer temperatures in several parts of the country, Agriculture and Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı has said.

Greek authorities have taken proactive measures as they announce the commencement of the forest fire season, as reported by the Greek publication Kathimerini. The decision comes in response to unusually high temperatures, low rainfall, and strong winds, setting the stage for potentially hazardous fire conditions.

The combination of unseasonably warm temperatures, low rainfall and strong winds has prompted authorities to declare wildfire season open as of Monday, April 15, the earliest Greece has ever started implementing fire prevention measures.

As officials brace for another wildfire station, one that started much earlier than usual due to unseasonably warm weather, a priority is to protect homes and property.

The 2023 wildfire season in Europe was among the worst this century, according to a European Commission report published on Wednesday.

Last year, more than half a million (504,002) hectares, an area twice the size of Luxembourg, was scorched by wildfires, according to a report on Forest Fires in Europe, Middle East and North Africa 2023 by the Commission's Joint Research Centre.