Fire prevention

A 45-year-old woman succumbed to extensive burn injuries on Monday, a week after being doused with a flammable liquid and set on fire by her husband.

On January 8, after an argument, the 53-year-old husband, who is Roma, set the woman on fire, reportedly in front of two of their children and her brother.

It would be highly beneficial to have information about the financial stability of municipalities, the fiscal prudence of mayors, and their contributions to civil protection, environmental initiatives, and enhancing citizens' daily lives before each local election.

A massive wildfire that decimated vast tracts of forest in northeastern Greece over 17 days was gradually abating on Monday, although hundreds of firefighters were still tackling pockets that continued to burn, the fire department said.

Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias is asking regional authorities to make anti-erosion and anti-flood works a top priority following this year's damaging wildfires.

Burnt areas in Greece increased by 270% from the beginning of 2023 until Wednesday, according to the National Observatory of Athens.

Greece's prime minister said on Thursday it would launch drones and install forest temperature sensors to improve preventive firefighting after criticism from climate activists over a devastating wildfire burning for almost two weeks.

Fines will be increased and convicted arsonists will have to serve their sentence in jail even in cases of negligence, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Thursday, during a parliamentary debate on the handling of the massive wildfires that have destroyed swathes of forest land in Greece over the past two months.

Preserving forests cannot solely rest on the shoulders of the central government. Local governments must finally rouse themselves. 

The Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection announced on Wednesday a set of measures designed to help the people and regions devastated by the ongoing wildfires in Evros, northeastern Greece.

The European Union's largest wildfire since the bloc started keeping records more than two decades ago showed no signs of abating Wednesday in northeastern Greece despite the efforts of a multinational firefighting force on the ground and a fleet of water-dropping aircraft.