Greece has its strongest heat wave in more than 30 years
Temperatures could reach nearly 45 degrees in some Greek regions from Tuesday, August 3.
AP - Michael Varaklas
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
Greece is hit by a third heat wave in a month, with temperatures soaring at the start of the week to 45 degrees in parts such as the Peloponnese and Thessaly.
In the Greek capital, the thermometer is expected to display up to 43 degrees on Tuesday according to forecasts.
The authorities speak of the worst heatwave the country has experienced in 30 years.
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With our correspondent in Athens,
Joël Bronner
The new heatwave that hit Greece at the beginning of August initially encouraged
forest fires
.
Fires are certainly a recurring phenomenon in Greece during the summer period, but they have nevertheless increased in recent days, in particular in the region of Patras, in the Peloponnese, and on the island of Rhodes, in the archipelago. of the Dodecanese, not far from Turkey.
Another consequence of this heat wave, an increase in electricity consumption in Greek homes and an unusual pressure on the distribution network, which pushed the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, to publicly encourage the reserve.
“
We are facing the worst heat wave since 1987. It puts a strain on the electricity grid as the demand for electricity has increased.
We are doing everything possible to manage this situation but we are also asking consumers for help so that they try to limit their consumption, especially in the early afternoon and evening,
”he said.
In 1987, when air conditioning and fans were much less common than today, a week of heatwave above 40 degrees during the day and no less than 30 degrees at night suffocated Greece, officially resulting in death. , at the time, about 1,300 people, especially the elderly.
►Also read: A wave of devastating fires hit southern Europe
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Greece
Environment
Climate change